


Percy Jackson and the Lost Treasure

by marisandini



Series: Quest to the Past [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Canon Compliant, Gen, Hufflepuff!Percy, Humor, Mystery, Somewhat, Time Travel, Worldbuilding, demigod!Dumbledore, halfblood!Dumbledore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:14:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 77,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24226417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marisandini/pseuds/marisandini
Summary: Percy Jackson has gone to the 1970s to stop Circe from affecting the future on her effort for revenge. It's his second year in Hogwarts, and new mysteries lead him to believe that there's a treasure buried deep within the walls of Hogwarts from the leftover of the Four Founders' conquest.With his friends, Severus and Lily, they'll seek to find it before darker forces get a hand to it first.
Series: Quest to the Past [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1175306
Comments: 49
Kudos: 213
Collections: perseusjackson





	1. Flashback of the Future

Darkness.

That was the first thing I noticed. It came to me like a wave that won't recede, engulfing me in the abyss and cold, suffocating me yet unrestricted. It was so uncomfortable that I wouldn't have mind wearing my tight suit that mom had forced me into, that had me think living in the underworld would have been better than that.

The universe likes to prove me wrong.

The darkness, the cold, and the silence were overwhelming me that I found myself screaming. I wasn't sure what I was crying about or if I was just desperately trying to call out to someone, but in the end, I couldn't even hear my own voice.

The solitude was torture, and I could barely take it.

I wasn't ashamed to say I broke down crying at the spot, holding myself together as I kept mouthing the soundless word for help.

Then a voice called my name, and I whirled around so fast, I thought I broke my spine. Seeing Wise Girl there standing like the sun illuminating the dreary dark place. I found my legs running without thinking or comprehending why she was here and how. All I cared about was to feel her in my arms and never letting go.

But just when we were only an arm's reach from each other, her face contorted in surprise when she toppled down to the ground and looked back to find a single thin strand of web tied to her leg. As much as she tried to claw in the darkness, desperately holding on. She was pulled away into the crack, but nonetheless, I reached out for her.

The crack was blinding white in contrast to my knowledge that the Tartarus would have been pitch black, but that doesn't make the fear any less scary, and I never thought there would be a time I would think I would be scared of the light because it was currently where my girlfriend is being dragged.

I screamed her name despite my own voice being unheard and reached for her. Our hands were inches apart. When I was just about to grab her, I felt my body being restricted by previously invisible, thin wires and found myself being held against my will, watching in horror as Annabeth reached the white chasm before disappearing from sight.

I woke up with a scream, sweat dripping off my head and back before wiping it off. My ears perked at the banging sound of my dorm's door, and I rushed up to open it. Behind that door was Grover, but he wore bloodshot eyes, his hair was shaggier than I ever saw him with, his teeth gritting nervously while his cloven hooves tapped frivolously. He must have been half-asleep as he kept making knocking motion even after I opened the door, and needed to blink a few times before he realized I was in front of him.

"Oh, thank the Olympians Percy, you're awake. Your nightmares have been driving me crazy."

I winced and smiled guiltily at him for giving my best friend a hard time. You see...you might not know or most likely forget, but Grover and me have an empathetic link. It's a telepathic connection satyrs have with people, making it capable of sensing each other's presence and emotion. It sounds convenient and all, but it does have its downsides. If either one of us dies, the other will most likely die as well or sink into a vegetative state.

At first, I managed to convince Grover to retain the link so either of us would be able to go out and help whenever one of us needs it despite how far apart we are, and it proved its usefulness. We never mentioned it after the war with Kronos, even though we knew it was there, so the link got shoved at the back of our mind until it was forgotten. However, after the Second Giant War, it comes to my attention that as I relived my nightmare through Tartarus, Grover had the unfortunate fate to experienced the same agony through my dreams. I suggested we had our empathy link cut afterward, but Grover would have none of that. Saying that I would need someone to wake me up from my nightmares with no one living in my dorm. I tried to reasoned him off why it was a bad idea, but Grover would have none of it.

"You didn't agree to cut it off when you know I might need you. Now I'm doing the same since you obviously need it, so I'm not cutting the link," Grover said resolutely then. Of all the few times for him to grow a pair was when he had to stand up to me. It became a habit afterward that whenever I suffered in my nightmare Grover would come and wake me up.

"Sorry about that Buddy, is it just me or did Anna-"

Grover cut me off, "She's already waiting for you by the campfire. I figured Hestia must have done that as a favor." I nodded and went toward the campfire, where I saw her waiting for me with a blanket on. Had it been before, we wouldn't be able to stay because then, the harpies would try eating us. But after a few words from Chiron and even Mr. D himself, the three of us manage to be an exception to their meals.

I sat beside her by the Campfire while Grover sat beside me. Annabeth snuggled closer and put her head on my shoulder while I put my hand around her waist. If the three of us weren't so worked up from waking up a nightmare, I could have pretended that we were a group of teens sneaking out late at night and search comfort from each other. Reminiscing the warmth with my two best friends when the danger of being a demigod felt so much simpler. A different time where the situation with a girl next to me was different, the horrors we faced were different, and yet the one thing that stayed constant was my friends, keeping me sane throughout my rollercoaster life.

"How's Juniper, by the way?" Annabeth asked Grover after a minute of silence.

Grover's blush was evident despite the light of orange campfire that would have obscure it, "She's...she's great. Amazing, actually!" He gushed, looking down in embarrassment, but I smiled when seeing his beaming face. Happy and glad, knowing my best friend is head over heels with the girl of his dream. I looked down at Annabeth, and my smile dropped when I saw her smile didn't reach her gray eyes.

"How about you guys?" Grover asked us when he recovered some.

"We're good," I answered automatically. Knowing the underlying question he made. Grover wasn't the first to ask us that, and I couldn't blame any of them. Tartarus had taken a prominent and evident toll on us, and no one can't look at us without asking us how we've been.

Suddenly, I felt Annabeth shaking beside me. She was crying. It took a lot to make Annabeth cry, so to see her breaking down like this shook me a lot.

"I can't...this is just so frustrating. I thought with the war over everything would be back to normal, you know? The hard part shouldn't be about learning to get back to normal, not having panic attacks at the slightest trigger, and for once, we get to sleep without worrying about nightmares."

I let her cry on my shoulder as my hand soothingly rubbed her back. I didn't say anything as I let her rant as much as she needed. It was frustrating for me too, even though the war is officially over, for us both, it felt like it isn't over, and if we closed our eyes, the nightmare and pains would feel more real than the peace we felt right now. The strain and adrenaline we felt for weeks in Argo II from the constant going, going, going finally unwound, and feel truly safe again. While it was a great relief and joy that it was over, but after everything we've been through and seen, it still felt surreal to me...to us. Our minds still had a hard time wrapping around the current reality of things.

"We'll figure it out," I finally said, "I don't know if we'll ever be okay again, especially when Tartarus had taken a bigger toll than either of us bargained for. But we'll figure it out, we always do...together."

Annabeth's hand went to clasped with my own, "Together," she said. Because we both knew that knowing we had each other was all that mattered. We didn't say anything afterward, just taking comfort from each other's presence. After Annabeth managed to sniffle her tears and composed herself.

"Sorry, I guess...I still can't believe we're actually here."

I smirked, "Don't be sorry. In retrospect, we really should have been dead thousand times over."

Grover chuckled at my words, "That's true, you two have always been good at defying the odds. Do you know how many cans I desperately wanted to eat while worrying over the two of you."

"Yet, you love us too much to do otherwise."

"Don't remind me."

The three of us laughed, and the night felt a little bit better for us. I then heard the soft _clop-clop_ of familiar horse hooves and turned to find Chiron walking toward us, "Good evening, Heroes."

"Chiron, what brings you here?"

He didn't answer me immediately, he settled for a short silence, probably contemplating his answer. "Percy, Annabeth," he began, "I have trained a lot of heroes in my long life. Many I put my faith never came back. Many would emerge from the shadow and surprise you, yet you become heroes surpassing even my own assumptions.'

We all chuckled at his admission, but I was as impatient as ever when it came to serious things. "Not that I'm not flattered, but is this going anywhere?"

There was a solemn silence before Chiron jerked his head and turned, "I think I have a way to help you with your night problems, come with me."

The three of us exchange glances, but without a word, we followed Chiron back to the Big House. When we entered, none of us expect to find Clovis, Son of Hypnos, sleeping on the table with a calm and peaceful look on his face. Chiron sighed at his predictable antic and shook him awake.

He abruptly stopped snoring, opening his eyes wide and zeroing it into the group. "Oh, you're here, about time. I got tired of waiting."

"Clovis, I left you for barely for a minute."

"Irrelevant. Now, Annabeth, Percy, you should sit down for this."

"Wait, what's going on here? Clovis, what are you doing here?"

My question raised an eyebrow from him before turning back to Chiron, "You haven't told them?"

"I was getting to that," Chiron sighed, "Children, I had consulted with young Clovis here on the issue of your recurring nightmares and how he'd be able to help your problems."

We were silent when we took in the information and sat across him. We didn't say anything, but our posture showed we were eager to listen. "Okay," Clovis yawned before continuing, "So...Tartarus, can't blame you guys for having nightmares about it, it'd be weirder not to. Now, what Chiron had requested me to do is to seal up any dreams concerning it."

"You can do that?"

"Yeah, it's not an easy spell to do, so not many know it. Luckily for you guys, I do."

"Are we? What's the catch?" Annabeth asked, her eyes were skeptical, and her question elicited a sigh from Clovis.

"Well, the reason it's a difficult spell depends on the dreamer. You see, it's used more as a crutch rather than a way to keep it away permanently. You'll still be able to recall the times you had there off course, but it would be no different to watching yourself in a movie-like experience. You know what you're doing, but you'll be detached and won't recall the feelings you experienced. The fear, the desperation, the anger, the sadness, it will all be locked away."

"Well...isn't that great?"

"If the spell is done right, yeah, it would. It won't last forever, and the emotion I've stored away would leak slowly but surely until the dream would just be another nightmare you could brush away. But this is the tricky part. If anything and I mean anything disturbed the spell and forced your dream out, the backlash would be devastating and normal nightmares are already bad enough. Yours might risk making you insane or worse catatonic."

I winced, certainly that sounded bad. I wanted to say that I would think about it, but Annabeth surprised me by immediately saying, "I'll do it."

Grover and me looked back at her in shock, "Are you sure?" I asked.

She nodded, "It's not like we're going to any more quest. So what are the chances we get our minds invaded like that?"

"You have a point, but still…"

Annabeth sighed, "Look, Percy. I'm not asking you to do this with me. I know you're concerned, but this is something I decided that would help me. We've been through literal hell, so I doubt standard method would be of any help anyway.

"I never said I wouldn't, I just want you to be sure. There's no way I would let you do this by yourself. Together, remember?"

Annabeth looked up at my face, her lips curved into a soft smile and her eyes teared up at my words. "Together."

"Uhh...that's nice and all, but first, you need to settle one problem before continuing."

I turned questioningly back at Clovis, "What's that?"

Clovis paused before he began yawning and looked blearily at me, "Like the fact we aren't even real."

I furrowed my brows, confused until a different voice made me turn. Instead of the half-opened door of the house, I was expecting, I saw the scenery change before me as I was back to the familiar dark, dank room where cliche villains would meet and discussing their cliche evil plans.

However, I find the scene I'm witnessing to be intriguing as Moldy-Short had Circe wrapped around his snake's slimy, scaly skin and hissing on her face.

"Your plan failed," he stated coldly.

"A small setback, I assure you, Voldemort, that this was not far from what I predicted."

The hissing stopped, and the air stilled tensely as Voldemort's red eyes narrowed, "Explain," demanded him.

I couldn't see her face with her hood on, and the darkness shadowed her face, but I could have sworn I saw her rolled her eyes at him. "You don't know him like I do; Percy Jackson is not one to be trifled with and then to expect the ending to be settled perfectly. He is a thorn to many sides and had faced many adversaries and hurdles along the way and won. Despite my own hatred for him and his young age, it is a fact that he is not an easy opponent to face, and if you truly want to succeed in taking over the Wizarding World, your first concern should be finding a way to get rid of him...permanently."

"...is he why you're so adamant at targeting Hogwarts?"

"Partially. I didn't know he would come to school until it was too late to realize. Now we must focus planning our next step if we ever want to succeed because heed my warning, he's not to be underestimated with."

Terse silence dragged for second or two before Voldemort began doing his creepy snake language before the giant snake pet of his slithered away. Then with a fast whipped of her hand and brandishing her wand (since when does she use a wand?) aimed at his snake. The snake hissed out in alarm before slowly it morphed into a possum. I gawked in surprise and alarm at the sudden spell she cast.

"Let me remind you, _Dark Lord_ ," she said his title as if it was a mock title, "That I'm not one of your lowly followers, you do not get to threaten me or you will find yourself with one less Horcrux."

I didn't think it was possible, but she managed to shock the famous dark wizard enough to make him step back, "How did you-"

"-know? Honestly, you're not as subtle as you might think. So let me make this clear to you. We. Are. Partners. I do not serve you like your mindless little followers so I deserve the respect needed to make this partnership work so threat me again or you'll find you have a harder time getting what you want, and believe me after seeing what I've seen, you won't get far without my help."

Brandishing her wand again, the possum turned back into the giant snake and it began to slither around Voldemort like a cowering dog. He didn't say anything and look stunned, but that didn't stop him from changing the subject.

"So how do you plan to handle your pest?" he asked.

I noticed the slight hint of grin beneath the dark shadow of her face, "By breaking him apart of course, gradually from overtime, physically and mentally. Unlike before, he is alone, so it would be easier to finally see his own mind tear himself apart."

Voldemort tilted his head, curious of her words, "What do you mean by that?"

"Do you really think that I didn't consider letting the plan fail without repercussion to my _dear Half-Blood_?"

The words became like a trigger, I felt gravity pulled me down, and I was falling into the dark, dark abyss. Down, down I went until I found a sliver of a shining web strand that I grabbed in the sheer attempt of survival and couldn't believe the luck that it worked. I made a huge sigh of relief until looked down and froze at the sight I saw. Hundreds-no, thousands of monsters were waiting below, jeering and laughing at my pitiful sight as they waited, without much patience, if they kept doing jumping jacks, for me to literally fall into their arms. It was like a sea of all the monster who ever had a grudge on me.

The Minotaur, Telekhines, vampire-girl-things, the giants, Kronos, and even the human form of Tartarus himself was there. It felt like watching a get-together for Percy-haters by saying, "Hey! Who wants pizza, coke, and maim Percy at my house this Friday?" I think I even spotted Smelly Gabe in one row trying not to piss himself, yet still managing to holler at me with spittle flying out of his mouth. His red face scrunched up and an unhealthy sheen of sweat everywhere.

If the purpose was to intimidate me, then Gabe was definitely the wrong choice. He looked more like a demented hippo than anything.

But then the silver strand of spider silk snapped, and I plummeted down in what felt like a slow-mo scene from a movie.

The Minotaur was grinning, well, as much as he could with his ugly mug, and opening his arms for a fatal hug as the horde he led rushed towards me as one wraith.

I gasped, jerking up awake, panting heavily from the rush of nightmare that came to me at night. I was disoriented of where I was because of the unfamiliarity of the place until I spotted Sophia, flapping up and down and making loud hooting noises to wake me up. She stopped when we locked eyes and gave me a concerned tilt of her head.

"I'm fine," I said. But Sophia didn't believe me if the sharpened glare and the peck to my hand was any telling, making me yelp. "Okay, okay. I just woke up from a bad dream. That's all." Sophia paused as he made a pointed glare as if to say " _Again?!"_ and pecking me once more. "Hey! I'm awake now ,so quit your pecking." Sophia did and flapped her wings smugly before she went to leave through the window to find herself some breakfast, leaving me alone to my thoughts.

It's been almost three months since leaving Hogwarts. Almost three months since I saw the literally haunted castle used as a school, since I last ate a banquet in the warmth of the Great Hall, since sleeping in the four-poster bed with my roommates, something of a novelty from me after my time in the Hermes Cabin.

As much as I miss Hogwarts, the teachers and students there, it couldn't compare how much I miss Camp Half-Blood. Every time I think back, I was struck with the feeling of fond nostalgia and an aching stomach ache. I missed the sound of muted metal clangs from the training grounds and forgery of the Hephaestus Cabin, where elated whoops of a Hephaestus kid celebrating, or cussing so dirtily that Blackjack would buy a soap company and stuff it in their face, can be heard. (He has tried, once, but then decided that the old advice rang true. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Which is why there still are soap scraps found everywhere in the smithy and stables.) The smell of strawberry and grapes from the field the Demeter and Dionysus cabin grew. The bi-weekly visits of our Roman bros or us visiting them. The twinkling sight of the sunlight reflecting the lake, and the smell of the ocean as I waded through the river shallows to get to the beach.

I didn't realize I was staring with blank look through the window, staring at the horizon of the foggy street of a small town of England, until I was snapped from the sound Sophia's flapping wings as she went inside to her perch with a dead mouse on her mouth.

I sighed with exasperation, "Sophia, what did I say about bringing in dead animals?"

She ignored me and preened.


	2. Three Lousy Crossroads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!!! I'm in a good mood so I present to you the second chapter of the day!
> 
> Recap: Nightmares aren't new to demigods. Tartarus nightmares? Well, that's another thing. Although I like to put on a brave face and say the dreams don't scare me. I would be lying if I say it didn't start to mess with my head.

"So, how's this?" Lily copied the stance I made with her wooden sword. I looked up and down her form, tapping my chin in thought before making my way behind Lily. I wrapped my hands around hers as I straighten the sword to make sure it's parallel to her head, the blade resting just above her shoulder, in a way it's easy for her to block or stab anyone who came after her. My leg urged her left foot forward, making her weight evenly match.

I was so busy lecturing; I didn't notice the deep blush on her face that would rival her hair when I guided her waist to face forward and that she had her head tucked down as a result. I then let go and struck her sword with my wooden one. She wasn't too prepared, and the sword fell out of her hand.

"You lost focus," I said to her sternly. "Make sure always to keep your grip firm else your sword will easily get knocked out of your hand, so no letting your guard down. Don't let your back be too tense. Let your sword guide you, not let it throw off you."

Lily pursed her lips and took the fallen sword before switching to a basic sword stand I first taught her. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she faced off with me, and I smiled at how eager she was to learn this with me.

Okay, so you all might be wondering along the lines of: "What the Hades is Percy doing teaching swordwork?" To answer your question, it just so happened that a few weeks ago and after dealing a bad encounter with an Amphisbaena, a serpent that has a head at both ends.

I know what you're thinking, how do they crap looking like that. But it's a question I didn't ask in fear of what I might find out.

It was when we were recuperating on our favorite spot of the park that I noticed how intently Lily was looking at my sword with a strange glint in her eyes. I asked her what was on her mind, and she looked at me straight in the eyes before she asked me in a flat but serious tone. "Can you teach me how to fight with swords?"

It was a question that got Sev and me whipped our heads at her with wide eyes as if we just saw _her_ grow two heads. Lily look offended by our surprise and shoved us back. "Come on, is that so surprising?"

"Yes...no...it's just, why all of a sudden?"

To my surprise, Lily only shrugged, "I just thought learning how to wield sword would be useful...and they looked interesting to learn." I scratched my neck and looked away in thought, not sure if I should. But then Lily but all pleaded me as she kept repeating: "Please, please…!" to me until I gave in.

Sev had commented on why she should even try learning to use a sword when she could have magic on her side. The argument between them somehow led to Sev joining the swordsmanship lesson with her. He showed us while he has a knack in magic, he has zero coordination with a sword on hand, and a few spar lessons easily got him to yield to Lily more times than I could count. Lily seemed to relish the fact she was good at something better than Sev. It didn't take a week for Sev to give up "playing sword" as he called it and is now reading his book on the side while I trained Lily. She was positively excited at learning how to use the sword, though it worries me a bit, I thought there's nothing wrong teaching her a few tricks.

"You know, for a guy who sleeps in class most of the time. You're pretty stern in teaching," Severus commented on the side as he looked up to us from his book.

I shrugged my shoulder. "Hey, she asked for it. If Lily wants to be any good at it, then I plan to give her the best lesson I could muster." Sev rolled his eyes and continued reading his book. To be honest, I thought after the few hard session I gave her, and she would have given up like Sev. Surprisingly, the harder time I gave her, the more she bounds up and worked harder.

When it was almost evening, we packed our things and walked Lily to her home. It was one of the few routines we had over the summer; Enjoying each other's company throughout the day. We meet up at the park, play or talk or maybe even practice magic knowing there's barely anyone around most of the time, even working on our homework, which thank the gods I have them to help me or I'd scarcely done anything.

Sometimes though, like that day. There would be an unwelcome encounter that just made me want to groan. We were minding our own business when a beggar came from a dark alley, blocking us on the silent street. He was a hunched man that made it hard to know if he was short or not, wearing a dark blue beanie hat and wearing multiple coats that send alarms in my head since the summer weather doesn't encourage one to wear heavy clothing.

"Would you please spare a penny?"

Lily shook her head and sent a sad, wistful smile. "I'm sorry, but we don't have spare change."

"Oh it's no problem dearie, it's not like it matters anyway since you'd be dead."

Immediately Sev made to pull Lily further back and me shielding those two with Riptide pulled to my hand. A hissing sound emanated from him, which I recently learned that it is the universal reptile language of an amused laugh. The hat flew off, revealing a snake with four horns looking down on us. It moved like a worm, eyes glimmered in neon green, and its scales shone in yellows and reds.

"There seemed to be a snake-themed monster this week," I couldn't help but mutter at the sight of a new species of monster I'm facing. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"I am the magnificent Cerates," he said with his snakehead tilted up with pride. "Bear my name to your soul, for I shall sink my teeth through your skull, Half-Blood."

"I've read about you," Sev piped up, "You were featured in the book ' _Notebook of Leonardo da Vinci'_."

Cerates hissed again and showed an evident smile that even exposed her fangs. "Ah yes, Vinci was a dearie. Though he did cut my lovely horns and my head off, and he was such a cutie pie like you," she commented, looking at me and making me squirm.

"Umm...thanks?"

"Oh, don't mention it. Vinci was also a sweet thing. He even mentioned me in his book. It's too bad I never get to taste what his young flesh would be in my mouth."

"Probably for the best, he probably doesn't appreciate having someone drooling what he tasted like." I murmured.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

"Umm...I said you must have made an impression for da Vinci to write about you," I tried distracting her.

"Aww, thank you. You are such a sweetheart. I'm starting to feel bad of wanting to eat you."

"We could skip the meal and just talk about you, maybe even what Vinci has to say for you, Sev do you remember what the book had said?"

Sev frowned at the question before a glimpse of wide eyes flashed in understanding before he tilted his head in faux thinking pose. "You know, as I recall, you are a creature so swift and so flexible, you were said to have no spine."

Cerastes nodded, feeling glee at her description, "Yes, yes. I do have a flexible body. What else does dear da Vinci say."

Sev looked he was having trouble recalling and glanced pleadingly at me when I was in the middle of sneaking behind her. I gestured my hand to force him to go on, but when nothing was said from him, Lily stepped forth and took reign of the conversation.

"That you have nice skin!"

"...scale!" Sev whispered harshly.

"SCALE!" Lily immediately corrected herself, "Very nice shiny red scales, you must have taken good care of them, and your horns are just gorgeous!"

"Yes, horns!" Sev exclaimed, "He praises your horns a lot too. Said that you used it to bait birds around aside from being a majestic point of yours, is that true?"

Cerastes was about to answer, but suddenly she turned her head in 180 degrees, proving her spineless body and gritted her teeth against the swipe of my sword. The grin on her showed she relished my surprised look.

"Nice try, Percy Jackson, but do you think I have forgotten about you and your sweet, sweet smell of your blood?" She pulled me along with my sword and threw me to the nearest wall, and my air was knocked out from my lungs.

I struggled to get up and watch in horror as Cerastes edged closer toward my two friends, "You know...I was going to spare after your lovely compliments, but since you were being such naughty children and conspired to kill me, I suppose I have enough room for two mortal children."

Her words struck me worse than the blow she gave me, and I saw red as my teeth bared in a growl. Ignoring the pain, I dashed toward her, and she flipped at lightning speed. I made a split-second decision and sidestepped to her side, grabbed her horn, and pulled her down to the ground before I stabbed her neck until the pavement cracked from the force of my sword. Cerastes screamed and gurgled out blood and slime from her mouth.

"What's the matter?" the corner of my mouth tugged into an amused smirk, but my tone had lowered dangerously, "Didn't you say you wanted to taste how sweet I am? Or did you choke in your own blood?"

I slashed at where I presumed her back would be. "Huh, looks like 'Vinci-dearie' may be right! You don't have a spine," I cocked my head and looking at her with faux curiosity, "Or do you?"

I began cutting her open with my sword in non-fatal places, relishing in her pained gurgles and half-shrieks.

"Stop! Stop! Alright, you win. Just get it over and send me to Tartarus already!"

The name of that place triggered something in me. My mind became clear, clearer than it ever been as I pinpoint solely only the monster under my foot. Nothing matters than to have her plead and beg for mercy for thinking she could get away from me the easy way. Nuh-uh, she doesn't get to decide when I'm finished.

I made another slash by where her neck was supposed to be, pretending to look disappointed, to find no bones there. "Looks like I won't be proving him wrong today. Just like how you must be disappointed not tasting my 'sweet' blood either. Too bad I wasn't sweet in the first place, hm?"

"Please…" I heard her gurgle. "No more...kill me...make it stop…"

"Hmm…tempting. I might have considered it a year or two ago. Sadly I'm not that naive little boy anymore, and next time you should think twice before you even try to look at my friends. So bare in mind when you go back to Tartarus, tell your friends anyone who even tries to go against me, make sure they know your story how I make you suffer."

"PERCY!"

I jolted to awareness, and my whole body tensed. It wasn't my name that did it. It was the underlying tone of fear being used, and that got me realized what I was doing. The haze in my head seemed to part. My mind began to race as I looked back at my words and action. My hand reached out to my face, feeling the cruel smile planted on it before dropping it. Quickly, I lopped out her head, and the rest of its body disintegrated, leaving a horned snake.

I found myself breathing hard, the calm glee from her pain being replaced by shock and realisation. I hesitatingly looked back at my friends, my gut dropped when I saw the mix of shock and horror that greeted me. I wasn't sure what I had looked like at the moment, but I was sure they saw the same thing. I hope they saw the same thing.

I wasn't even sure what to say. "Uh- I...I-" I stopped, looking at the ground covered with golden monster-dust. I felt shame for my actions and couldn't quite look them in the eye for too long, but then Sev snapped out of it first and made an audible clearing of his throat.

"You know...for a beast they can surprisingly be chatty sometimes," he said in an effort to break up the tension. It was ironic since he was an awkward guy and usually the cause of tension. I smiled, grateful for his effort.

"Don't complain, Sev. They're usually the easy one to handle."

The usual banter we had somehow managed to shake whatever shock Lily was in. "Percy!" Lily ran to my side and wanted to hold me up but hesitated. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Tell me- I mean us, tell us if you need anything."

I was about to say I may have cracked a bone but shut my mouth when I remembered the last potion I drank for fixing my bone up. That got me to hesitate from saying anything. Besides, it wasn't so bad. All I need is to take a quick shower, and I'll be good as new anyway.

"Nope, I'm fine," I said with a bit of too much cheer in it. Making the two of them glare in sync, which was multiple levels of scary. "No, seriously, I'm fine! I think I'll hit back home first and rest though, you guys don't mind, right?"

They hesitated but finally shook their head slightly and let me go to walk my way back home. It was after taking a few steps did I hear Lily called out to me once more. I turned to find her mouth opened, and she stood still like that before biting her lips, looking unsure of herself.

"Are...are you alright?"

She wasn't talking about my wounds, I was pretty sure of it. I smiled that even I felt was weary and forced but didn't stop me from answering. "I'm always alright."

We knew I was lying, but none said anything to point it out. I didn't feel much guilt because honestly? I didn't know if I was alright. But I like to think that I am.

Finally, I felt my shoulder sagged when I saw a glimpse of my apartment, bit back the pain as I took the stairs up. Only after did I manage to step inside my room did I slumped down and groan in pain, hoping my shoulder wasn't dislocated or anything.

"I see you have a hard battle this time."

The voice surprised me enough to make jolted into a stand and pulled out Riptide in record speed, but I couldn't help the sharp pain that shot out horribly. I could only relax when I realized the one sitting in the living room with a tea on hand was Hecate.

"I wasn't expecting you," I said at least while capping Riptide back into a pen before pocketing it.

The polecat walked to rest on her lap, and Hecate patted with fondness. "Come and sit Percy, I brought you some Nectar. It would help with your wounds."

The mention of godly food got me perked up. It's been a long time since I had any healing foods or drinks that don't smell like fried roadkills from Sev's potion. I sat on the sofa and pulled the mug to my lips, sipping it slowly as I savor the taste of homemade chocolate chip cookies my mom would often make. A pang of nostalgia hit me hard, but I squashed before it could take its toll on my heart.

Once I finished, I tried moving my shoulder and found the pain was gone. "Any chance you could leave me some Nectar and Ambrosia?"

"I could, but then can you make sure you could hide it from your friends, so they don't accidentally eat it and burn away from the godly power in them?"

Well, if you put it that way, now I'm too nervous even to carry one. Hecate sighed and pulled out a small see-through box that I noticed had a packed Ambrosia in it. "There's a limited amount of it, so make sure you only use it for an emergency."

I nodded and said my thanks to her. "So, any reason why you would be here?"

Hecate took a sip of her mug before gently placing it on the table, stretching out the silence between us, convincing me whatever she has to say won't be good.

"Please stand up, Percy Jackson, and I will tell you the three crossroads from the choice have to make."

I groaned before resting my head on my hand, "Can I choose not to know about my most likely lousy future full of death threat and pain?" Hecate didn't say anything but gave me the _look,_ which I presumed that I had no choice in the matter. "Alright, just hit me with it and get this over with, what do you get for me?"

Hecate gave me a pitying smile which I _so_ didn't need right now, the mug on her hand turned to a torch, and smoke-like mist began to fill the room from the burning fire. Thankfully it wasn't one that I could choke on or else that would be a pathetic way to die. Hero of Olympus defeated by smoke, trying to listen to yet _another_ of those damn prophecies.

Hecate raised her pale arms. Three gateways began to materialize—north, east, and west—and swirling with Mist. A flurry of black-and-white images glowed and flickered. A brief static came across the pictures before flickering back with colors.

Three crossroads that led to three different futures.

The first was enough of a shock. The western doorway showed Lily screaming in fear, alone, at a shadow of a monster that I knew was at least the size of a giant. Severus and me running desperately but was too far, and at the corner of that image was James, but he was being held up by someone with a knife on his throat.

The gateway to the north was a vision of a broken sword amidst the background of gold and fire. The concrete wall shattered, and the floor colored with blood. The significance was lost to me, but it must have been worse than it looks if Hecate was showing this to me.

But the images of third, last, and the eastern doorway was the worst, showing me the courtyard of Hogwarts being overrun with cloaked men shooting out green spells. There was no sound but the crowd of students were all shouting, crying, and running. In the middle of it all, I saw the back of a bald man laughing in triumph and Dumbledore on the floor. Dead.

Well, saying that it looks bad is an understatement.

"This is the path that laid in the crossroad before you. From different points of time. The choices will not come now, but when it does, it'll impact your entire quest."

"Which means, the choice I'll make this year will either decide my success or downfall of my quest. Great, nothing new there."

"Do not take this lightly, Young Half-Blood."

"I'm not," I growled at her, not caring if I did it to a goddess, "I spent enough quest in my lifetime to know when to take things seriously, so don't treat me like a child and let me get through this situation with my coping mechanism or else I'll just freak."

Hecate blinked and looked slightly taken aback but said no more, without even chastising me for my rude tone and turning her attention back to the crossroad laid out before me. "When the time comes for you to make the choice. Four choices will stand before you."

"Three." I cut her in, now Hecate was looking annoyed at me. Her polecat and dog growled and hissed at me, and I became sheepish. "Sorry, but like I said, there's three. I don't have any intention to back away from the choice."

"So you are familiar with how my prophecy plays out. Very well, three choices will stand before you." She aimed her torch to light the nearest doorway, the eastern gate. "One choice will lead to the rise of the Death Eaters in Britain. You will live the rest of your life fighting the war against the Dark Lord and leading the insurgent, more or less live a content live despite the fighting, moving on from your past and have a family of your own, your friends you have now will live past their time, and the Prophecy Child was never-were."

"Well, I certainly am not going to choose that. Who would want a life of never-ending war?"

"You'd be surprised by the answer." Hecate walked and light the image of the northern doorway next, "Your second choice will lead the death of your friends far too early before their time and-"

"Pass."

Hecate sighed, her annoyance was audible, "My patience is wearing thin from your interruptions Percy Jackson and I don't like being interrupted when I'm not finished talking."

"No offense Lady Hecate, but a choice where my friends died isn't an option at all. We could skip to the third one, please."

Another sigh escaped her, sounding a bit weary before she kneaded the bridge of her nose. But then she looked back at me and was a bit surprised at the tenderness in her dark eyes. "Right then, then I supposed that leaves you to the third option."

I gulped, feeling nervous at the choice I had set myself into, "Which is?"

"The last choice will not make you a hero." Oooookaaay, I did not expect that. "Instead, you will lead them to their chosen path, a path of a hero, of sacrifice and lost, of raising hope and shedding tears of perseverance. The choice of letting go when needs to be."

"So...you're saying my last choice is essentially to "Back off" and let others handle it?"

"In simple terms, yes."

I had my fist clenched until my knuckles were white and my teeth grinding at each other as I seethed, glaring hard at her, and I wonder if my eyes were showing a storm that reflected the bubbling anger inside me, "In other words, you want me to be like the gods. To watch but not interfere."

"Watch your mouth, boy, you have no idea what it's like to a god, but just as you carefully put it, yes. Though it is more likely, you couldn't interfere after the choice you made."

I didn't know if it was possible, but the choice had almost convinced me to back up from choosing altogether. It was one thing to be thrown into danger and fighting it out yourself, no matter how much you became tired and despise the fighting. It's another thing just to let others do it and not being able to help directly. It reminded me too much of what the gods do all the time, giving orders and make requests and manipulating our choices. Some might lend a hand or two but never directly, and The Second Giant War doesn't count. I knew they have their reasons, most of them were suckish reason, but still being put into their shoes in any way is one of the last things I want to do. Guess this is one of those times where I'll just have to bear it.

After thinking long and hard, I breathed out an insufferable sigh, squashing the building anger and exasperation from the choices, "Who will I let go?" I asked in the end.

Hecate smiled, one that I dare say was sympathetic, but I try not to read too far, "You will know when the choice will be made."

I huffed again, rolling my eyes irritably, "Yeah, that's helpful."

Knowing her work is done. She waved her hand, and the fog and gateways disappeared as the scene changed back into my living room. "If it's any consolation Percy Jackson, your trust will not be misplaced. It's time for me to say my farewell." Hecate was about to leave through the door, rare of her to do that, I know, but paused when her black eyes gazed at my wrist and my own green eyes darted down at the wristwatch that wasn't working. "What is that?"

"It's a watch... or at least I think it is. I doubt that Hermes and Hephaestus would work together to make a normal watch… I'm just not sure what it does yet."

"Let me see," she ordered.

I was confused by her reaction but shrug and gave the watch to her. She looked back and forth at the watch before sighing exasperatedly, muttering "Idiots" under her breath.

"This is a magical item," she finally said. "I don't know much of what it will do, but I do know that they forgot to put in some batteries."

I blinked, surprised at the revelation. "Wait, so all this time it hadn't work because they forgot to put some magic batteries in it? That's pretty-"

"-stupid? I know."

"I was going to say careless, but if you say so. Please go ahead."

She flicked the back of the watch opened and on her hand, materialized was a small pair small golden circular batteries, put it in, before tossing it back to me. I caught it in one hand and while I looked down.

I observed, apprehensive, while the clock's hand began twisting and turning until it stopped at the appropriate time. Other than that, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary of it. I even waited for something to happen, but nothing did.

"Does it do anything besides telling the time?" I asked Hecate.

She shrugged her shoulder, her mouth curved in detached, "You'll have to figure that out on your own. I'm not much help since even I'm unfamiliar with most of their work. I don't have the best relationship with most of the Olympians, you see."

My mind ran back at the Second Titan War and that Hecate had sided with the Titan. It somehow made me wary of her, but I put that aside since I don't have the energy to be suspicious of the only goddess on my side. Pursing my lips, I thanked her as she went through the door before disappearing.


	3. Ivan, the Annoying Fairy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: So...good ol' Aunt Hecate for me despite her busy schedule, being a goddess and all just so she could give me a glimpse of how suckish my future is whichever my future choice would be. Well, it was still refreshing not to have a rhyming fortune being told. She also happens to fix up a certain gift from the gods of mine. What exactly does it entail? Let's find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY EID MUBARAK TO ALL MY BELOVED MUSLIM READERS!!! 
> 
> Minal aidzin wa faidzin. 
> 
> Hope everyone stays happy and healthy during, and take care of each other this forgiving time.

Once Hecate had left me alone with a mysterious working watch, I found myself spending time fiddling with it. Curiosity got me interested in what it has in store. My lack of attention to Sophia must have hit her nerve because she began to hoot agitatedly, she began flying up to my face and making me slip the watch off my hand.

I tried to catch it, but it repeatedly kept slipping out of my hand as I tried to grab on it and fell to the floor. I was afraid I might have just broken it, but it bounced on the ground, slid, and stopped before the sound of a tiny switch being click was heard.

The clock hand moved left and right, as if drunk, before it stroke at 12. It opened up like a locket. The gears inside that became visible began to twist and turn, slowly bulging up until something pop out of it and made me jumped. It shone for a bit, and the light dim enough for me to clearly see what it was.

It was a fairy.

An automaton fairy.

I admit I was impressed. I examined its features in fascination, the quick flap of its blue wings look light and almost see-through, it looked like a bronze humanoid fairy with elf-like ears. I was surprised by the meticulous detail made at the last minute, but I suspect Hephaestus doesn't pull back any effort in it.

"Greetings Master, it's nice to finally be awakened. My name is Ivan, and I'll be your personal assistant," the fairy name Ivan greeted with a bow. It wasn't like I had expected a fairy robot coming out of the watch, so I wasn't sure how to respond to the overly polite greeting. Sophia flew to his side and examined with her beady gray eyes.

Ivan tilted his head, looking back before bowing at Sophia in grandeur. My owl looked pleased with the shown respect and gave me a judging look with as if she expected me to treat her just the same, making me rolled my eyes.

The little fairy stare back at me, "How may I serve you then Master?"

"First, don't call me master. It sounds weird for so many reasons. Second, what exactly do you do anyway? You said you're my assistant or whatever, but what exactly do you do? I doubt it's to keep tabs of my schedule, set appointments, or whatever."

"It's within my scope of ability, but I assure you that there's more to my use. Lord Hermes has made sure to expand my abilities to help you with your quest. Such as identifying monsters from both Greek and Wizarding world, providing support, displaying maps, update you with news, providing advice, and even random facts. Did you know since the joining of a squib, Angus Buchanan, in a muggle rugby team, garnering all wizard rugby fans into making Wizarding Supporters of Scottish Rugby."

Ignoring the really unimportant fact, I couldn't help but ask him, "So... you're like my own personal fairy version of Siri?"

Despite its bronze engraved face, I could somehow tell the grimace showed, "Please refrain from making crude comparison. Lord Hermes had instilled for me to expressed disgust at Siri behind Lord Hephaestus back." There were few questions popped in my mind, but seeing as it wasn't important, I decided to just ignore it.

"You know, you don't have to be so polite to me. I don't know if you've been programmed that way, but can't you notch it down a bit?"

"...will that please you?"

"Uhh... I guess it would."

The air around him shifted as his rigid stance soften, his back slouched, and he wiped his imaginary sweat. "Phew, thanks for that. I don't think I could stand talking like that without breaking character. It would become- Oooh, what's that?" The next second, he flew to the kitchen and began to scourge a half-eaten brownies I was saving for later and ate it like a hungry Pacman. "Hmm... chocolate almond fudge, so this is what it tasted like. Oooh, what's that?" Again he whizzed past me and went toward the cupboard of the many snacks I had, where he began opening it up and left it all half-finished. I tried trapping him inside, but the slick fairy managed to slip away at the last second. Not only that, but Ivan also began blaring the radio in full volume, the TV was switched on, he even inspected everything he had on sight; pillows, vases, lamps, cups, you name it before throwing it away like a kid who got bored whatever he had on hand. I tried to stop him but was too busy doing damage control before he broke anything.

I fumed, having enough of his antics, I went toward the little fairy and try to catch it with my hand. To his ease, he managed to slip out of my hand and continue talking my ear off. I tried to capture the pesky thing, but every time I reached out for him, he managed to dodge me as swift as a fly.

Finally, having enough at our antics, Sophia decided to take the matter to her hands... or claws in her case and flew toward the unattended watch before pecking at it. I was about to reprimand her since she might break it, but instead, she somehow turned over a switch that Ivan obviously didn't like as he started to look horrified and saying, "No, no, no wait!"

Too late to stop her, Sophia turned the switch. I watched as the glow around Ivan dimmed, his face went slack, and he began to

Well... at least I know now how to shut him up.

I looked back at my small owl with proudly and gratefully. Sophia rolled her eyes and made a pointed look at me as if to say, " _Honestly, what will you do without me?"_

Cheeky owl.

I picked up the watch and wore it back onto my wrist. Ivan was far from what I expected. But despite his quirk, I admit after he listed his uses, he would be an immense help in the long run, and begrudgingly felt he would've saved me half the trouble I experienced if I had him when I was twelve.

I put the thought quickly aside since there's no point in dwelling in 'what if' and hoped I wouldn't need help from the annoying fairy anytime soon.

Of course, Fates had just to say otherwise.

**. . .**

The end of summer came slowly for the three of us. Maybe it was because we counted the days for the time we could go back to the school that taught us the wonder of the Wizarding World. Well...Sev and Lily are, I'm mostly just glad I wouldn't have to worry about monsters waiting to take my head off 24/7 in Hogwarts.

On the last evening, the Evans invited us for dinner. Yet sadly, only I was able to make it while Sev had difficulty to go out and join. On the one hand. I don't want to cause more trouble for Sev. On the other, I just wanted to kick his curb off and sneaked Severus out anyway.

The next day, we met up at the station. Our pieces of baggage all ready as we rode the train to London. The ride was short, but we were so excited about what the year would bring us and talked animatedly about it.

There was a brief, tense moment when Mr. Evans had asked, "Why so quiet, Petunia? You know you don't have to be shy and could ask them anything, right?" We were silent as we waited for Lily's response. The Evans weren't quite aware the sisters' problem. Even when Lily had her eyes glanced away and pursed her lips. Sev just frowned, obviously not wanting her to be part of the conversation.

"No, thank you. I'm much more satisfied looking out the scenery, you know...like what a _normal_ person would do. Don't mind me and continue on."

I was pretty sure if she wasn't in front of her parents, she would have sneered. Her words oozed out sarcasm, I'm surprised the Evans didn't notice it, guess they are a bit on the thick side. Lily winced at her words, Sev rolled his eyes, and I sighed in response.

Before long, we finally reached King Cross Station. It was fifteen minutes to eleven and we were cutting it a bit close, dashing with trolleys filled trucks toward platform nine and three-quarters.

Yes, you didn't read wrong. Platform nine and three-quarters. Apparently, wizards had the idea to put a secret entrance between the dividing platforms of nine and ten, which wasn't visible to the muggle eye. All you had to do was walk through the solid barrier. It didn't hurt, but you have to do it carefully so that none of the Muggles noticed you vanishing. I was secretly convinced the mist might have helped obscure them, I highly doubt they could hide a disappearing group of people going through a brick wall without raising an eyebrow for decades.

Unfortunately, it was ten minutes to eleven when there was a sudden blaring sound. Not too loud for people to wince, but enough to make you turned at the sourced in annoyance. Which was me.

I glared at the watch on my hand that was shining in warning red.

I tried covering it, hoping it would dismiss the sound but that only got Ivan to come out and hide beneath my hair. "Uhh...excuse me for a minute."

Lily and Sev eyed me, demanding me to hurry, I nodded in apology and fiddle with my watch to ask him hotly what he was doing.

"Sorry Boss, but can't really pop out with all those mortals and wizards around. The Mist won't help much since they're clear-sighted."

Oh great, and I thought Blackjack would be the only one calling me that. "Forget about that, what the hell was that? You almost caused me a panic attack!"

"Yeah, sorry about the Monster Radar Boss, if you want you could put it to vibrate."

I was about to hiss at him to just put him in silent mode when I paused at his words that managed the same effect as dunking cold water at me. "Did you just say monster radar?"

"Three monsters at your nine o'clock, Boss."

A cursed would have slipped out if I hadn't schooled my face and tried to look like I was checking the time as I glanced at the direction of where the suspected monster was. Sure enough, if you look closely, there were a trio of mysteriously cloaked man in black that just sent a red alert in my head. I pushed Ivan back to my watch and forced my steps to be casual even when I wanted sincerely wanted to dash. Lily and Sev were waiting for me alongside their family, I forced out a smile and asked them to go ahead without me since I'd be in the toilet.

The two frowned at me since they know the train had a toilet in it, but before they could remind me of that, I cut them off, "It's okay, I'll be back fast because I really, _really_ need to go, so you better get to the train right this instant." They kept their frown though they didn't say anything, I then pulled out my pen and immediately their eyes wide in realization.

"Alright, come on Mom, Dad, we should go before there isn't any room left for my trucks." Lily urged her parents in a rather frantic act. They were confused but didn't protest. She probably figured she was excited more than they first thought.

Sev made to follow but turned one last time toward me and glared, "You better catch up with us, Percy, or else."

I smirked, "You know I will."

He turned back to the pillar and together with his mom, they ran toward it and disappeared. I was grateful that they took with my luggage with them so now I have to focus on my upcoming fight.

I searched for the cloaked men and found they were closer now, their inhuman growls were audible, and I made sure they knew I spotted them before running as fast as my feet could carry. Away from the civilians and to a more secluded place. It wasn't an easy thing since I was smacked dab in the middle of Britain's Capital City. I saw a glimpse of them chasing me, the audible sound of their heels pacing against the pavement, there were small cries of people of being pushed away or almost ran over by them.

I didn't realize how fast I was going until I lost sight of them after turning from a corner and crashed into someone. We both dropped on our butts, and I made a hasty apology, yet that one pause was enough for the three monsters to surround us. If being caught wasn't bad, getting a mortal involved is worse.

"Finally," one of them snarled, "You've been an annoying little runt, running away from us like that."

I glanced around, wanting to curse at the few curious people taking notice of us. Making a nervous grin at them, "Any chance you boys would want to settle this somewhere else?"

"And give you the opening to run away? In your dreams, Half-Blood."

"Umm, excuse me."

The three monsters and me turned at the voice, and we looked down at the girl I had accidentally bumped. I took a good look at her for the first time; she was a teenage girl who had bushy brunette hair, honey-colored eyes, long nose, and oblong face. She frowned at us, disgruntled as we barely spare any glance at her after she was knocked down to the street. The situation somehow nagged at the back of my memories, but I wasn't sure why.

"You people seemed to have some personal issue with each other. It would be nice if you could handle it someplace else and not disturb people on the way?" The girl then stood, her hands rest on her hips, and her lips curled as if words of reprimand was ready at the tip of her tongue.

One of the men snarled at her, "Back off girly, this isn't of your concern."

The teen gawked surprised by the rude tone of his, making her huffed more and glare hardened, "Seeing as this boy knocked me down from your chase or whatever, it becomes my concern, so you don't knock down anyone else...speaking of which why were you chasing him anyway?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" said another, "Now we're warning you back off mortal girl or you'll be facing your nightmares." The three of them reached out for their hood and pulled them down in synch, I was preparing myself for a lot of possible ugly looking greek monsters. I've seen snake for hair, eyes covered face, hand covered body, and many animal cross monsters.

Yet even after more than 5 years of experience, I never expect my chasers to be dogs though.

Okay, dog-headed to be precise. There was one with a Bulldog head, another with a Labrador, and the last with a Chihuahua head, which got me to snort in laughter at the sight. I mean, the Chihuahua-man himself is already making my stomach turned to knots with his small head on top of a man's body, but seeing three different dog head together is just asked to be laughed at.

"What the hell are you laughing about?"

I chuckled breathlessly before getting any words out, "Sorry, it's just...have you look yourself in the mirror? You three look like you're about to start a weird visual kei boy band or... a dog band." Not even the girl couldn't hold back the chuckle, and that only made them growled angrier, succeeding in making the air more subdued. It didn't have the same effect on the girl and she snorted.

"Yeah, I'm impressed you sounded genuine there, especially with your mask looking pretty realistic, but why don't you boys go do whatever your creepy group does where you don't have to shove an innocent girl out of the way?"

The Bulldog-Man growled with his mouth slurred from the massive saliva leaking out, "You are nosy girl, can we eat her?"

The statement made me tensed and I stepped to block her sight from the group of slobber mouth. Swiftly took Riptide on my hand at the slightest sign of attack to one of us.

"Aww, the little Half-Blood is so eager to protect the mortal."

"This little Half-Blood is going to put you down if you don't run with your tails like the little puppy you are."

The Labrador-Man snarled, walked to the nearest parked car and pulled up the hood of the vehicle and crumpled it with his bare hand. Huh... I was expecting to see bare paws. That's kind of a letdown. He then threw the crumpled hood back at us. I had to pull the mortal girl aside while she stood in shock at what she was seeing.

"Do we look like a puppy to you?" he snarled.

"Oh my gosh, what are you?!" The girl exclaimed with a gasp.

"That's a good question, what exactly are you guys anyway?"

Despite being literally shoved off, Ivan managed to pop out again and whizzing past my ears like a mosquito, "They would be Cynocephalus. A Greek monsters that have a man's body and a dog's head. They mostly had a Jackal head, but they recently come in variation."

"Bloody hell, what is that?!"

I turned back to the girl who was looking at Ivan with a mix of shock and a bit of an awe expression, pointing at him with shaky fingers. So not only am I being surrounded with monsters alongside a mortal, but a clear-sighted mortal to boot.

Isn't this a deja vu moment.

Ivan locked eyes with her, silent stretched before looking back at me, "Did I just get you in trouble?"

"We've already gone past that line. Wait, Ivan...any chance your 'support' could provide something like a distraction?"

Ivan hummed in thought, "I can throw in some legos?"

"Cruel but not appropriate this time."

"How about a dung bomb? Lord Hermes had insisted providing you a mini portable prank set for this sort of this occasion...well, sort off."

I looked back at the dog face and thought how they would have the same sharp nose and grinned, "That will do."

Ivan snapped back to my watch. The gears began turning and shifting before there was a click sound, and my watch shot something out that made the three of their guards up. It became clear it had been only a brown marble size ball that fell to the ground and rolled slowly to their feet.

They looked at one another in silence before laughing aloud at my pathetic attempt.

Not a second too soon, the dung bomb exploded and coated them in brown smoke with a familiar horrible smell I couldn't help but love at that moment. Having distracting them, I turned to grab the girl's hand and told her one thing, "Run!"

I didn't wait for her response before I drag her alongside me.

The Cynophe…the Cynolus...you know what, let's just call them Dog-Heads. The Dog-Heads got their bearing and continue their chase on me. I wasn't sure what the mortals must have seen from us and have no time to change their perception. I prioritized getting the girl away and searched for a place I could keep her away and decided to make a loud whistle and stopping a cab in front of us.

"Wait, what are you doing? Where are you taking me?"

I pushed her into the car and was halfway closing the door, "Sending you away, so you don't get caught up with the fight because I don't need a mortal screwing up my concentration with three monsters on my tail. Here's what you're going to do. This cab is taking you home, and you're going to forget ever meeting a weird kid, being chased by a group of Dog-Heads, and try to think this all your overactive imagination and live your life as normally as possible. By the way, what's your name?"

The teen girl looked at me in astonishment and might even think I was crazy, but even so she answered me, "Monica. Monica Wales."

"Nice to meet you, Monica. Bye!"

I closed the cab's door and let the car drove off, even when I continue my run away from the monsters.

I turned to find I was cornered once more by the three, "You're not getting away from us again?" Chihuahua-Man growled. He would have sounded a lot scarier if he didn't look so ridiculous with that small head of his. I examined where we are, which is in the middle of the roads.

So before they could say or do anything, I kicked the Bulldog-Man at the same a car was coming from behind him, colliding with a big _thud that he propelled_ away.

"Bill!" called out the Chihuahua-Man, and I had to snort at his name. Really? Bill the Bulldog?

He ran to his friend, but the Labrador-Man stayed and bared his teeth at me. I wasn't worrying much then when he lunged, seeing I have no problem dealing with one of them alone. I sidestepped him. Then the flick of my wrist managed to cut his left hand that was about to grab me.

Labrador-Man howled in pain, fall to his knee as he looked down at his handless arm. I used his new position as leverage to swung Riptide down and cut his head off. Disintegrating him to dust.

"Gerald!" Cried Bill the Bulldog after gaining his bearing, "Grr, you will pay for that Half-Blood!"

I looked back at them and made the universal gesture of " _Come and get me."_

The Chihuahua-Man, being the closest, took a swipe at me, but I wasn't afraid of him. I came up close to him and made a grab to his mouth, shutting him up and pulled him down so I could throw him down the pavement. I twirled to dodge the sharp nails from Bill and stabbed him in the side. He went down easily.

Becoming the last and the only one left alive, I saw Chihuahua-Man plopped down his ear in fear, the familiar sound of a scared dog rumbled in his throat now that he doesn't have his buddies to watch his back. "Uhh...any chance we could settle this in a peaceful and reasonable manner?"

My answer was a quick stab to his chest, and he went out as dust.

My shoulder slumped and I sighed at finally getting rid of them when I became aware of the crowded looks given my way. The loud horns and angry screaming coursed through the street. I was suddenly glad being in the 70s or people would have been recording me on youtube or something by now.

I saw a glimpse of a couple of funny-looking men in fancy hats that I realized were the cops. It took the reappearance of Ivan to crawl next to my ear and said, "Boss, I think this is your cue to run."

"No, duh."

And ran I did.

They called out to me to stop, but honestly, who in the right mind would do so in my situation? I was glad my demigod physique helped to outrun them in seconds, and it overwhelmed me in relief.

At least, that was before suddenly reminded of my other crisis.

The train.

I could have just checked my watch, but i was too much in shock as I ran back to King's Cross Station and went to the pillar that led to Platform nine and three quarters.

I looked up at the clock.

It was 11:45.

The train was long gone.


	4. Another Family Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: So I just found out that from now on I'm going have a fairy sidekick, not sure how he'll be helpful. Turns out his helpful enough to detect any hidden monster, and one fight with them caused me aboard the Hogwarts Express Train. My luck just can't get any better.

I gawked at the clock that showed it was way past the train's boarding time. I knew I stayed way away too long but kept the hope I could somehow catch up to it. But with this much time lag, I guess that's wishful thinking now.

" _ **Di immortales,**_ what should I do now?"

"If you don't mind hearing me out, Boss," said Ivan appearing next to me once more. I was on the verge of snapping at him if his next words didn't give me a pause, "I have a solution to your problem."

"You have?"

He didn't say anything immediately, "Yes."

"You hesitated."

"Anyway," Ivan continued and ignored me, "Let's go to a roof! Hopefully, we'll get there in time for this."

"In time for what?" I asked, feeling frustrated at his vagueness.

"Less asking, more moving, Boss." Ivan made to fly ahead, more possibly to ignore my questioning, and I was forced to follow him. I didn't feel the need to hide him since the Mist was probably making him out as an annoying fly. He certainly doesn't act differently from one.

We climbed out a commercial building through the stairs of the fire escape. It was the first time for me seeing the outline horizon of 70s London, and panic as I was, I couldn't help but take a second to marvel at the scenery. The London Eye was nowhere to be seen, but in its place was what I learned, later on, was the Great Wheel. On another side was the Big Ben that showed the time was 11:57. There weren't as many skyscrapers yet, being in the past and all. Yet it was breathtaking all the same.

Another second ticked by and I looked back at Ivan, "So, how are we going to go about this?"

"You called out."

"Called out to who, you're not being really clear here, Ivan."

"Oh right, sorry, forgot to explain. There's actually a Pegasi flying near our vicinity."

"Wait, really?! What are the odds of that?"

"Statistically the odds are-"

"Save it." I cut him off, "How do you know anyway?"

"My Monster Radar can track more than just monster actually. You should be very grateful for Lord Hermes to think things through."

"Hallelujah Hermes!" I whooped in glee and made out the loudest whistle I could make, not caring for whoever heard and looked up to find the silhouette of a tiny boy at the edge of the roof.

I waited for three seconds more or less, but it felt the longest three seconds of my life as I waited for my possibly my last chance of getting into Hogwarts...oh good gods I can't believe I'm trying this hard to get to school. Time is sure the biggest irony.

Then, I noticed the familiar outline of my favorite kind of my favorite animal. The grin I had grew up a notched when the pegasus grew closer, but I stilled when I found that there was something off about this horse. I just wasn't sure what it was until he was close enough for me to see his features.

First thing I noticed was the color. His coat was rich brown, mottled with red and gold around the muzzle. The wings that expanded twice the regular wings were the colors of gold, white, brown and rust. A combination of colors I never imagined on a pegasus. It was once he landed before me, making a loud neighed and stood in a majestic yet proud way I usually don't see on pegasus since they always bow and appease to me.

My suspicion was confirmed when I looked at his honey eyes and said, "You call me Brother?"

Holy!

HOLY FREAKING ZEUS!

Did I just call not _a_ pegasus, but _the_ pegasus?

"You're...you're...why are you here anyway?" I asked my Half-Brother.

"What? Did you think just because I don't show up often that I couldn't stretch my wings and stroll the sky once in a while? Though this is strange, I was sure Poseidon still had his treaty with his brothers against siring children."

"Yeah... long story short. I'm from the future, and the gods don't know I exist, and I like to keep it that way."

Pegasus had his jaw dropped and was looking like a horse-version in shock and instead of asking more what I meant, he said, "I'd like to ask but I suppose what the gods got themselves in trouble with this time is none of my business."

"Oh, you are so lucky you could ignore the gods like that."

His mouth curved into something I suspect was a smirk, but then quickly turned solemn and his gaze hardened as he put himself straight and tall. "You call me in need of my assistance, but while I admit, I'm feeling thrilled to find another of my brethren, but I'm not so generous to lower myself to who is less worthy to ride me," he said in a warning tone.

I tensed and had to reprimand myself for thinking things would've gone off easy. I didn't want to fight him though. Not only was Pegasus a cool dude and, in a weird way, was related to me, I didn't have the time wasted trying to rein him in.

However, an idea popped—a long shot. But more than probable for it to work. "You want someone worthy? Fine. Then let me introduce myself. My name is Perseus Jackson. Son of Poseidon. Savior of Olympus. The Conqueror of the Labyrinth. The Holder of the Sky. Defeater of Kronos. Survivor of Tartarus." I couldn't help the smirk seeing how at every title I named, he became more and more slack-jawed. Hey, he already knew I'm from the future so what's the harm? "So... am I worthy enough for you?"

Pegasus closed his mouth finally and said in audible amazement in his voice, "I could sense that your words aren't false which make it all the more ridiculous how you could possibly be alive at this point."

I shrugged, "You and Me, both."

He neighed once more before crouching his leg, so his height wasn't towering over me, giving me access to his back. I smiled and looked back at Ivan, "Guess you have more uses than I thought."

Ivan waved his arm and made an exaggerated bow, "Always there to be at service for you," his dim glow bright before he flew back to my watch.

I dashed to Pegasus's side and for a brief moment hesitated to ride him because... well... he's Pegasus. If Hercules is the Starbucks of Greek World, Pegasus is the Greek's Mercedes. Every person dream of riding but never could. So as much as I'm trying to look passive, you can't blame me for fangirling a bit. Do you even realize how jealous and let down I was when Pegasus came to help Reyna and didn't even try to say hi to me? Instead, I met his sucky twin Chrysaor but not the older cooler twin, what's up with that?

That brief moment passed as I focused back on a train I plan to chase and lifted myself on him.

"A son of Poseidon named Perseus riding me, of the irony."

"That's life for you," I smirked. Pegasus neighed in laughter.

We took off to the sky. I held on tight to his mane as he flew in blinding speed that could rival the Potty Mouth Airon. I could never see how Hazel managed to tame him, much less get along with him.

"Where to my Brother?"

"Follow the Hogwarts Train." With my words as cue, we zoomed the sky and hearing the sonic boom behind. I was glad he had known what I meant and didn't need to point out which way.

Before long, we blazed through the blazing sunlight, even when my eyes watered from the strong wind hitting against me and squinting from the blinding white sun above, I spotted the train streaking along the train track like a smoking red snake.

London was soon far behind me, replaced by neat green fields that gave way in turn to wide, purplish moors, a great city alive with cars like multicolored ants, villages with tiny toy churches.

Pegasus had to slow down so he could follow behind the train and he wasn't amused by the circumstances of holding himself back. We had gone for several uneventful hours. My ADHD would have been torture if I hadn't had Pegasus to exchange banter, sometimes even showing me flying tricks and going past clouds that got me briefly wet and giving me good view of nature from a box office quality seat. That didn't stop me from wishing I had something to occupy me from boredom.

And as cliche as I sounded, I had to say, be careful what you wish for because I certainly got mine.

The first sign something was wrong was the faraway screeched I almost mistaken for the wind. As time gradually ticked, the screeching became louder and high pitch. I groaned aloud at what would ensue.

"Great, more monsters." I took out Riptide and looked back, tensing when I spotted another first-timer monster. This time it was a plumed, two-legged bright emerald scaled serpentine creature with bright shade of purple wings that reached up around to fifteen feet in height.

It wasn't anything I've ever seen or heard before and was awe looking monster in a frightening way that I had to wonder why I've never seen it like griffin or minotaur.

"Any idea what that is?" I asked Pegasus.

Pegasus looked disgruntled by its appearance "Occamy, a monster from the wizarding world. You usually find them in the Far East, one must have gone astray."

"You don't sound fond of them."

"Met another once. They stole my nuts. I like my nuts."

I wanted to ask why a meat-eating flying snake would want a nut, but decided to put that aside, "Then how about we go hunt ourselves some Occam?"

The loud neighed he made sound agreeable, "Heck yeah, I've been waiting to put them down with my feet!" Pegasus spread his wings and made a U-turn. Ready to face a new monster ahead of us.

**. . .**

Meanwhile, on a certain cart, four Gryffindor boys were chatting as they caught up with each other between the summer they spent away from each other. Remus couldn't help appreciate the presence of his friends. He never thought, oh he hoped though, it was possible for them so tightknit after knowing for a year and he couldn't think of them any less than a family.

"...and then Regulus saw my old snake doll and cried for about an hour at it, and all I laughed and took a picture of him."

"Oh my God, you are a horrible brother," said James between choked laughter.

"I know!"

They laughed out more until Sirius doubled over and rested on Remus' lap. The werewolf was more amused at his friend's antic than the story itself, but it was times like this where he shared a part of himself made him wanted and felt his faith with them grew over time.

Now if only he could tell them about his "other" side.

"I'm going to get changed to my robes now," James said, "Anyone want to come with?"

Peter jumped out of his chair in response, and Sirius followed up as well. Remus smiled and shook his head though, telling them that someone needed to watch over their seats or it'll get taken by someone else.

So there he was, reading his book while passing the first five minutes in silence. He then caught a glimpse of shadow passing by at the corner of his eyes. Remus thought he had been seeing things until he saw the blurred shadow again and almost missed it.

He looked through the window but only saw the mixed color of bright blue and light orange, the green plain of the land stretched out through the horizon and the long streak of white clouds. Thinking it was nothing once more, he was about to sit back down.

_**BLAM!** _

Until he was startled out of his wits when a brown winged horse and a child who looked awfully like Percy slammed the window. Making Remus yelped and fell to his butt.

It took only a second for them both to regain their balance and flew off once more. They flew up just before the Occamy came at them, resulting in another crash of its face to the window and Remus screamed at the close-up view of a giants bird headed beast with a serpent body.

The growl it made vibrated the window before it flew up to resume its chase. Remus, as shockingly afraid as he was, couldn't help but stand with shaking knee and came closer to the window. Just to be sure that he wasn't seeing things and gone bonkers.

He was rewarded with a scene of what one could simplify as a beast fight. The Occamy kept flying and twirling itself to try to snap its mouth on the pegasus from behind, while the pegasus itself was flying out of the way with grace and speed that would make one's jaw drop.

Remus was more in awe at the rider though, who looked at ease at the crazy maneuver the beast made at one another, with one sword at hand. He swung the sword with ease, but the sword only seemed to bounce at its scale. The Occamy flipped its tail at them, and the rider blocked it with his sword. However, the force threw them off. Remus couldn't help but pressed further to the window. As afraid and concern as he was, there was a twinge of excitement seeing a beast fight at first hand like this.

The pegasus quickly flew upright and dodged a quick lunge from the Occamy. The flying serpent turned and followed them up as they reached beyond the white clouds above.

Remus stood agape at the serene scene he was watching, way in contrast to the intense battle he had just watched.

The door to his cart opened, and went in were James and others, fully clothed in their Hogwarts robes. Laughing at a joke Sirius had told. They stopped when they saw Remus looking stunned, "What's wrong, Remus? You look like you've seen a beast."

Remus turned to them, mouths flapping like a wish, coherent words were swimming in his mind without a way to let out properly. Instead, he said, "I'm... going to go change now." They look weirdly at him as he dashed out of the cart.

**. . .**

"Oh, how I missed the rush of flying for your life!"

"I thought you disappeared because you're sick of this stuff?"

"I'm sick of the gods and the demigods who think they deserve to be above me. Can't say I never miss a good fight."

"Well...you've lived for centuries so I can't judge you for that."

We dodged another swipe of the thing's razor-sharp beak, and I suspect it's not used for berries and nuts and for cutting a person's head instead. The fight was getting increasingly frustrating when I couldn't even scratch its skin.

An idea flashed in my head, and I asked Pegasus to fly up.

He asked how high.

I said as high as he can go.

He quickly compiled. I look down to find the Occamy followed us persistently. The soft clouds brushed my skin, and I felt rejuvenated from the damp atmosphere and fasten the healings of my cuts. We jumped out of the clouds, and the Occamy was next to us.

"Can you fly by him?"

"Are you crazy? That'd be a suicide mission...I like it."

"So can you?" I questioned again.

Instead of answering, he zoomed toward the monster.

The Occamy looked surprised if possible and glared at us as it also zoomed toward us. I tighten the grip of my sword handle. My eyes focused at the approaching monster. It snapped its beak open once more, ready to tore my head. Pegasus swerved to the side, inches away from it. My sword swung and cut one of its wings. The Occamy screeched high and loud before I watched it descend, uselessly flapping its one wing, down and down past the clouds.

We were both silent as we caught our breath and let the adrenaline inside us fade. I couldn't help but exchange a smile before we continued following behind the magic train.

There wasn't anything else to preoccupy our time. Pegasus was getting restless and claimed he could take me to Hogwarts in a manner of seconds, but I said that would raise suspicion of why I came earlier than the others, making Pegasus neigh disgruntledly.

The sky began to darken, and Artemis began switching her watch in the sky in place of Apollo. The wind started to blew colder and had to resist from shivering. Yet, then I spotted the familiar landmark and couldn't help but grin. "There!" I shouted as I pointed out the silhouetted on the dark horizon, high on the cliff over the lake, stood the many turrets and towers of Hogwarts castle.

Soaring over the dark greenhouses, then the vegetable patch, and then landed over the black lawns. I sighed in relief of finally touching the ground and reached Hogwarts without a single mishap.

Well, almost if you think fighting a giant flying serpent and a trio of dog-person weren't mishaps.

"Thanks for the lift Pegasus. I know being a chauffeur isn't your thing, but I'm glad you did anyway."

"Thank nothing to it, Percy Jackson, it beats doing nothing all day...However, I must caution you to be careful."

I raised an eyebrow at the out of the blue warning. He should know it isn't necessary since life as a demigod threw caution out of the window. "Why do you say that?"

"The Occamy, while not a very rare beast, is not much seen in the sky of Great Britain and is more prominent in the Far East."

"Are you suggesting that someone used an Occamy to attack me? Not the most surprising news, I tell you that."

"Or preventing you from going to this school. I can't say much of what I don't know but godspeed for you Percy Jackson...for being my half-brother, you're not so bad."

I smirked, "Thanks for the flattery, see you, Brother."

Just as Pegasus flew away, I caught a glimpse of the line of first-year being ushered to the front gate of the castle. I ran but not too fast that they caught me separated from the other first year. Once they were clearly in sight, I stood at the very back, my height before my growth-spurt didn't alarm anyone. Hagrid might have spotted me if the raised thick eyebrows were any sign, but he didn't say anything. So far, things were going so smoothly, I thought I would pass this whole ordeal without causing a problem.

Then Professor McGonagall came with all her stern glory, and immediately I looked down to cover my face before she could spot me. More or less, she told the first-years to follow her, and they did. Trailing after her like baby ducks to their mother and I was only about to backtrack away when without looking back, she said; "Not you Perseus, you will stay there until I escort the first year to the entrance hall."

I swear I jerked when my name was called like a warning and froze in place as the line of first-year deserted me. Leaving me alone in the dank hallway. Seconds ticked by and McGonagall appeared once more, feeling anything but amused. "So, Percy Jackson. Would you like to explain to me how exactly you came lining up with the first years and not with your own?" Her tone suggested she would not accept any nonsense from my part of I don't want to spend the rest of my year with detention. For once I was struck out with words, because how could I explain without mentioning Chihuahua-Man and riding out a pegasus while battling monster through the sky?

Thankfully, I didn't need to as Hagrid appeared and saved me, "Uh, sorry Professor, but that would be my fault. I was talking with Percy that he accidentally lost track the rest and I offered him a ride with the firs' year here."

I shot Hagrid a grateful look while McGonagall's long gaze was a skeptical one. She sighed and decided not to push, "Very well then, you should go and return to the Great Hall to sit among your House friends and next time Hagrid, I suggest you don't take a student time and inconveniencing them. So I hope I don't see any repeat from the both you."

""Understood Professor.""

Professor McGonagall turned back to the hall, and I whispered thanks to Hagrid before following her, passing hastily pass the first year before going inside the Great Hall and sat between Gwen and Doc. They both looked surprised at my sudden appearance.

"What the heck Percy, where have you been? We thought you weren't going to school for the year," Gwen asked worriedly

"Yeah, funny story. Just a bit of a mishap. Coming here. But enough about me, how have you guys been?"

My two friends didn't look at all impressed by my misdirection and would have called me out if not seconds later, the first year hadn't come out to cut their attention off.

The hat sang once more, and the sorting began. I was about ready to dodge any question or lie my teeth off when they looked back at me, but cut themselves off when their eyes seemed to not look _at_ me but _pass_ me. Confused as I was, the answer dawned at me when a familiar pair of weight on my shoulder that was gripping at me a little too tight to be friendly.

"Hello, mind if we borrow our friend here?"

"We didn't see him for almost a day, and we thought we do some catching up."

I gulped, and let myself be drag away by Severus and Lily who I was too afraid to look at their face because I was sure without a doubt that they were very _pissed._

What a great start for the school year.


	5. Believe it or not, It was a Normal First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: Never had I been so desperate to go to school that I had to summon a Pegasus (Correction: The Pegasus) and fought off a nasty flying serpent. Luckily I managed to slip in with no problem, which leaves to the mercy one a pair of worried friends who left without knowing how I've been.
> 
> This should be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #BLACKLIVESMATTER
> 
> I finally can post a chapter and put this up. I am sure by now you all may be aware of the struggle most black people with the police system. The movement has become a worldwide movement after the tragic death of George Floyd that showed the reality of police brutality against colored PoC and minority. It's frankly surprising, tragic, and sad, watching videos police brutalizing peace protestors who did nothing, Emergency Response team and police union vocally protesting of taking accountability when the police has record of hurting and killing innocent people with little repercussions.
> 
> I know you must be tired of hearing this. I know there are also black people rioting. There's little I can say to defend that other than recommending to lookup Kimberly Jones. I think no one can express how black people other than a black people. All I can say is express a few words and hope anyone else would take a stand to support Poc and minorities not just in America but nations all over the world that held them back.
> 
> It may be difficult during a pandemic, but they need their voices to be heard. They need the support. They need a change. And hoping every little action, in whatever form, could help realize that into reality.
> 
> Every word counts.
> 
> And now, on to the story...

My back was harshly pushed against the stone walls. Sev and Lily pinning me on the side with blazing eyes that demanded me to spill my guts, I had to take a moment to realize they weren't being literal. So I explained to them how after luring out a bunch of dog-heads called Cylo-whatever. I was too caught up with them to be back in time for the train but was lucky enough to spot a stray pegasus to hitch a ride. Fighting another monster on the way before finally touching down on school. I didn't tell them about how a mortal, or a muggle, in this case, spotted me fighting what obviously couldn't be human. Don't need to raise more worries about having non-wizard wary of us running around. After all, wizards, in general, are all so paranoid with their secrecy.

"So you're saying-" Sev started said with his arm crossed "-that you just "happened" to come across a wild winged horse that you managed to talk him out to bring you to school? Got in a fight with an Occamy if your description is right when they're local in India before managing to win against a beast that could rival a dragon and arrive at Hogwarts in time, is that correct?"

"You don't believe me?" I asked.

"Oh, I do. Which makes me question my sanity more times when I'm with you."

"Regardless," Lily moved forward and pulled me into a tight hug, "I'm glad you're alright." Then she pulled away and slap my sidearm hard, "But try not to make us worry so much, understood?"

"Sorry, no promises, but I'll try," I winced as I rubbed my arm. Her work out must be coming along if her slap was any sign of her strength.

Satisfied with my answer, we went back to the great hall later on. The banquet already started, tables filled with the usual mouth-watering foods being dished out.

I sat between Gwen and Doc, they didn't say anything for a while but gave side glances at me. "So, any chances you're willing to talk to us?"

"Really it was nothing guys, I just missed the train and had to find an alternative way to get here. It was no sweat, so stop with the third degree. I had enough of that from Lily and Sev."

"What's the third degree?"

"American expression." I shrugged him off, "Anyway, did I miss anything while I was away?"

"Oh, just the new first years sorting, the new DADA professor, Professor Dumbledore's newest death threat. Other than that, not much." Gwen answered as she popped open her mouth for some fries.

I decided to ignore her last part and started digging into the foods I haven't touch. Scruffing them down and only just realized how hungry I was since I skipped lunch due to flying for hours. When the feast ended, the new prefects from different Houses called us to rise and led to our respective dorms.

Doc and I headed past the door that led to the boy's dormitories. We entered the familiar, circular room, with its five four-posters hung with yellow velvet and its high. Their trunks had been brought up for them and stood at the ends of their beds. Sophia was rattling the cage, demanding to be released and finding food for herself, I bet.

"Blimey Percy, you should try teaching your bird some manners." The familiar voice of my roommate said. Cross, Edgar, and Jean came striding in the room. "Though I can't expect much coming from you. You barely have enough manner of your own," Cross laughed hard at his own joke. The rest were all silent at his poor sense of humor.

"Come now, Cross," chastised Jean, "No need to say that. I seem to be reminded of you being peeved over how your owl always ignores you?"

Cross glared at him, but Jean didn't look perturbed and kept his smile all the same. We each unpacked our trunks and went fast asleep. Well...they did. I waited for a bit more until I could only hear their soft breathing. I woke up and took out the few foods I sneaked in my robes and went to the Common Room. The hearth was still burning and light the darkroom dimly. Making it easier for me to find my way toward it. Putting the side dishes to the fire as I whispered: "For Hecate."

The food burned, and I smelled the hint of roast chicken, toast, and gravy. It had become a habit I started in the middle of my first year since it felt out of place, not offering anything for at least Hecate. I couldn't really give an offering to my dad without alerting him that he has a son he hadn't conceived yet. That will bring out a lot of questions and problems.

Once that was done, I finally sneaked back room and fell to a night of deep sleep like the rest of my roommates.

The next morning. The four long house tables were laden with tureens of porridge, plates of kippers, mountains of toast, and dishes of eggs and bacon, beneath the enchanted ceiling (today, a sunny, cloudless sky).

Professor Sprout was moving along the Hufflepuff table, handing out course schedules. I took mine and found that I had double Herbology with the Ravenclaw first. Gwen, Doc, and I left the castle together, crossed the vegetable patch, and made for the greenhouses, where the magical plants were kept.

Nearing the greenhouses, we saw the rest of the class standing outside while murmuring of interest with one another, waiting for Professor Sprout.

Professor Sprout took a large key out from her belt and unlocked the door of the greenhouse tree. I caught a whiff of damp earth and fertilizer mingling with the heavy perfume of some giant, umbrella-sized flowers dangling from the ceiling. Professor Sprout stood behind a trestle bench in the center of the greenhouse. A line of plants was encased in glass. "We'll be reporting Venomous Tentacula today. Now, who can tell me the properties of them?"

More than half of the Ravenclaws shot their hands up immediately, and the professor chose a familiar face.

"Venomous Tentacula. They are more notable for their seeds used in magical items for transfiguration and ointments served to heal burns and their leaves used in potions that extend from the Stretch Potion to the Voice Changing Potion," said May. She looked proud at answering them before anyone else and has that I'm-better-and-smarter-than-you-look.

"Correct. Five points for Ravenclaw. Now, all of you will learn how to take the seeds from a fully grown Tentacula. However, be warm it is a dangerous attempt, can anybody tell me why?"

I looked at Doc who looked hesitant at shooting his hands up and I have full confidence he knew the answer with his photographic memories. So I grabbed his wrist and pulled his hands up. Ignoring his protest squawk at me handling him.

"Yes, Mr. Dearborn. What is it?"

"Eh...Uhm...they are mobile vines that try to grab living prey. Venomous Tentacula also expels the venom from its shoots, and its spikes are deadly. Its bite is highly venomous and can prove fatal."

"Excellent Dearborn, five points for Hufflepuff."

"Wait... and we're supposed to handle these things?!" Cried one of the students, most likely muggle-born from how surprised he sounded.

"Which is why it is important that you work in pairs and have one of you to hold your wand on hand in case you need to use the Severing Charm. Make sure you wear your gloves and neck brace so it wouldn't latch on your neck and strangle you." She said cheerfully in contrast to her deathly warning while pointing out the white neck brace that was lined up along the table.

The students nervously put on their neck brace before Professor Sprout continued her instruction, "Now when you pull up the glass dome, then as quickly and precise as you can, wrapped and pulled the branches up with one hand. Then began picking the small seeds on the corner between the bark and branches."

"Ready... begin!"

They pulled up the glass, and the plants began its attack on us. Some kids began to duck and screaming in fright, some wrestled back with the plants, others somehow got them writhing on the floor laughing while a few Tentacula got to sneak under their clothes and tickle them.

It was a chore trying to take hold of each of the branches that try to overwhelm you. I had to either dodge or catch the slippery plants. Sometimes it would catch both my hands and Doc had to cut it, but not until after he fumbled a few spells. The screams of the kids were deafening and I could almost make out Professor Sprout trying to calm them down, even going so far as sighing and mouthing the word "Every single year."

By the end of the class, l was sweaty, aching, and covered in earth like the rest of the class. Everyone traipsed back to the castle for a quick wash and then the Hufflepuffs hurried off to Transfiguration. Again, this year we had it with Gryffindor. The glare McGonagall sent me told me that she was determined to keep an eye on me. Figured, she wasn't too keen on believing mine and Hagrid's story. As much as I wished I wouldn't make any more problems, I knew it was nothing more but wishful thinking.

"Today, we're going to learn how to transfigure fluids. You all should have a cup of water on each of your tables and I want each and every one of you to turn it into a living being. Observe." She went to her desk where she has her own transparent glass that was filled with water. Pulling her wand and pointing at it. Twirl the wand around while saying, " _Mutatio liquidum."_

The water jolted before shifting around the glass. I felt the water itself changing and a strange tug churned my stomach that makes me uncomfortable. I knew then it wasn't going to be one of my best spells used when turning something as free will as water into something else entirely. In this case, she changed it to gleaming milk-colored pearl filled glass.

"Now, who here likes to volunteer for a small demonstration?"

A tap from behind made me turned to face James. There was the familiar quirky smile he always had when he's planning something. "I bet you 20 knuts that you messed up again by the end of it."

Sirius snorted, "That's a sucker bet and you know it, James."

I glared at those two with my best Death Glare, looking unamused, "Why would you think I even want to make a bet with you?" and they both knew better I was never good with transfiguration and its sciency spell.

"Scared you'll lose Prissy? Figures. I guess we have some in common, we both agree you're as lousy as we think you are."

I knew it was just a petty bet, but I huffed, glared, and straighten my arm out in the end. I was never one to back down from a challenge, and I didn't want to give any reason for the prick, James, to be right about anything on me. However, I barely raise my hand halfway up before the whole class coursed together with the single word, "NO!"

It made me miffed, and James and his gang had to muffle their hysteric laughter. I guess they taught the whole second year not to encourage me to do magic. Professor McGonagall kept her straight face and gave a long hard look at me before (begrudgingly?) letting me get on with the spell. I didn't miss how most of them duck or shield themselves with whatever they have on hand.

I took a deep breath. Pointing my wand at the cup of water I had and imagined the water following my will and becoming something else entirely while chanting the spell. The water began to bubble out, jumping up and down, and swirling around. I kept my focus on the image like I was taught, and popping sounds began emerging, changing the water slowly into pink pearls. There was still water left in the cup, but most was filled by the pearls.

After a few beat seconds with nothing happening, they all began peeking at my work, their jaw dropped at my success. I couldn't help the smug grin on my face. Lily, who sat in front of me, turned and gave me a thumbs up.

"Well, it would seem Mr. Jackson learned well from last year to control his magic. Well done." There was a hint of proud tone in her voice, and I was about to say my thanks.

_**Pop.** _

Then I heard the popping noise I almost misheard and would have ignored it if I hadn't spotted the mass pearls slightly shifted. I look pointedly at it before another pop sound was heard and I saw the pearls had jumped a bit and- is it just me or was there slightly more pearls than before. The third pop was then heard by McGonagall, her spectacles eyes pointedly look at my work before widening in realization and saying, "Oh dear."

Like a switch, those words caused cascades of popping noises, followed by the excess of flowing pearls off the cup. I panicked and tried to cover it with my hand, but that didn't help much. Gwen and Lily tried helping to round up the pearls while some tried to get close ended up like Doc and slipped from the pearl-covered floor.

You would it was just that, but the next scene made this ruckus looked tame.

One by one, cups of water began to sprout more pearls like a fountain. Everyone cried in panic alongside me as we tried to put out the waves of pearl covering the class.

The only one who stayed her cool was Professor McGonagall. Looking left and right at the scene, sighing heavily while she readied her wand, "I spoke too soon."

**…**

"What do we have next?" Gwen asked as we reached the multi moving maze of staircases.

I pulled out my schedule and read through it, "Defense Against the Dark Arts," I answered, "Which reminds me, I never got to know who the new professor this year. What was he like at the feast?"

Doc and Gwen looked at one another, uneased was evident at their face, like they weren't sure how to answer me. Making me feel unsettled by their act.

"His name is Professor Jeff Heckler, and he is...Doc a little help?"

"Uhh... unique," Doc muttered.

"Unique?" I repeated.

"En...thusiastic?" Gwen added unsurely. "Yeah, and he's also-

"Ugly," Doc finally blurted out.

"Very ugly," Gwen agreed.

"Absolutely ugly."

"Definitely has a horrifying fa-"

"Okay, okay. I get it. He's not good looking. Why the hostility?" I asked them, "Is he that bad?"

"We're not saying that because we don't like him or anything."

"Just that...he's really, really ugly," Gwen instead even though her face showed she was uncomfortable in admitting it.

"To the point that just looking at him makes us nauseated."

"Oh come on guys, how bad can he be?"

The answer came when we set foot for our class. I caught a glimpse of Professor Heckler for the first time and couldn't blame them for their reaction because he is, in a word, ugly. And I'm not saying this to insult him. I'm saying this as a fact. The guy had a giant wart covering his left cheek, his right cheek had freckles and zits, he has thinning gray hair, thick brown lips, round eyes with one of his pupil looking sideways, his lower jaw was sharp and looked like it was pulled forward, but most horrifyingly was his teeth which were giants. Okay, maybe not giants but still abnormally larger than normal teeth. It was yellow and disorganized. Never have I felt dread in seeing someone smiling at me.

"Good affternoon classh. Iff you had pay attention during the feasst then you would have already known me assh Professhor Jeff Heckler."

I was convinced that everyone in the class wasn't paying much attention to what he said. I know it's rude to watch other people's faces and ignore what they said, but frankly, it feels like watching a train wreck. It's so horrifying that you can't look away, and that was the case of the face of Professor Jeff Heckler. I didn't think someone could be that humanely ugly.

Still, I put aside my thoughts. It's bad to be biased because of someone else's look. Who knows? Maybe the professor isn't half-bad.

"In your sshecond year, you will tackle the many dark creatures looming in the wizarding world. From imps to trolls, banshee, and vampire. I'm sure you would recognize mossh of the material would be revisshion of your firssh year, but know that there'll be more in-depth material on certain topics." Professor Heckler said in hisses while fiddling with his charm bracelet. Why a grown old man would wear some things as silly as a charm bracelet? I don't know. But that would be the pot calling the kettle black when I'm wearing a bead necklace myself.

"Firssssht, I would like to expresssh how happy I am to be teaching you, children, in this magnificent school, created by our great Founders! Godric Gryffindor, Ssshaalazar Sssslytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw. Oh, how their epic crusade had led to this magnificent school as their legacy that sshtood for almosssht a thousand years. It had been their life's work. The lassh of their made effort together. A compilation of talent, minds, persshonality, and their own ssshecrets melded together—many, many ssshecrets. Even now sshtill hidden, waiting to be uncovered. What a wonderful school Hogwarts is. You all should praisssshe for itssh exisshtence!"

Scratch what I said about him not being half-bad. This guy is a total different nutjob!

"Dear me, I apologize. It's my firsssh day, and already I'm so worked up."

The class ended early for that day with skimmed topics of what we'd be learning, nothing much happened since we didn't learn any spell for the first day.

"Do you think he might be related to a hag?" Gwen commented.

Doc shrugged, "I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if he is."

"And what's with him spending more than half the lecture teaching us History instead? You would think he has a crush on the school."

"If Binns wasn't so persistent with his post, he might have gotten that job instead."

We reached the Great Hall, immediately I was greeted by a bundle of red hair tackling me that almost knocked me down. "Lily, what's wrong?"

"It's Sev, Severus, he's not here. I ask around through the Slytherin Table, and no one seemed to find him."

My eyes widened. Both of us together went out in search of him, abandoning my other two friends. I couldn't blame how worried she was for him after what happened last year. I just hope we're just paranoid since it's only been the first day.

Not knowing where to start, we've been asking around paintings and ghosts if they spotted a greasy-haired second-year kid and randomly opened up rooms.

"Where the bloody hell is he? It's not like him to disappear like that."

"Do you think he might have gone to the Great Hall by now Lily? For all we know, he might only get stalled or something."

"You're maybe right, but that doesn't make it any less worrisome."

I was about to reassure her more when the sound of crying got our attention. We looked around in question before spotting the crying girl.

Or more accurately, the crying ghost girl.

We looked at each other, silently questioning one another's thought if we should approach her and decided our conscience wouldn't let us walk away from a distraught girl. Hesitatingly, we walked up close enough that we got a good look at her white pearly features. She wore a big round glasses, long pigtails flowing down her shoulder, she was wearing a Hogwarts robe, looking like she was on her fifth or fourth year when she died.

She noticed us approaching and whipped her heads toward us with scathing yet teary-eyed look, "What do you want? Come to make fun of little ol' Myrtle, are you? Now that throwing her away from her own bathroom wasn't enough."

Her outburst surprised us, and it was Lily who took a step forward first so she could face her, "We're not here to do that, may we ask why are you crying all alone here?"

Myrtle sniffled a bit, "Oh-It's horrible. I've been just doing my own business, hanging around my haunt when those kids came and locked that poor kid in my bathroom. I understood his plight and wanted to lend him an ear, but he told me to shove off and booted out from my own toilet. What a rude kid. Though it should be expected, no one wants Moaning Myrtle around." Then Myrtle began crying once more, making true of her nickname.

Suspicion grew who that kid from her story might be, and Lily must have thought the same thing because she then asked, "Can you tell us where your haunt is Myrtle? Maybe we could help the kid, and you could have your bathroom back."

Myrtle sniffled again, "I supposed. Come."

We followed her until we reach the familiar abandon girls bathroom Lily had used last year to release Jack o'Lantern from his seal and help rescue the school together from Will o'Wisp.

We expected that maybe to find Sev being locked in one of the stalls, and we both were ready to rescue him. But we didn't expect to find Sev already rescued by another pair of Slytherin boys. We said our thanks to Myrtle before walking over to them.

"Thanks, I didn't know what to do being locked up like that for who knows how long." We heard Sev said to the two boys. They were a pair of big gangly boys, making Sev looking small, standing i between them.

"Sev!" both Lily and me called out.

He turned and grinned at us with a wave, "You found me!"

"A second a bit late, though," I said then glanced at his savior, "Who are they?"

"Oh, yeah. Percy, this is my classmates Johan Avery and Dorian Mulciber. Guys, these are my friends, Percy Jackson, and Lily Evans."

Lily grinned and waved with a bright smile, "Hello, nice to meet you, thanks so much for helping Sev."

Instead of sharing her sentiment, the two ignored Lily and addressed Sev as if she wasn't even there, "It's too bad you miss lunch Severus, we have some spare snacks to share the hope that would be enough," said the short kid with a bucktooth who was Avery. The other kid, Mulciber, grunted along behind him but had a dopey look on his face. If Dopey were on steroid and obese.

"See you on the next class?" he asked, "Then we could discuss which idiots would dare mess with a Slytherin."

He said all that with a smirk, but it looked twisted and a hint of childlike cruelness that made me uncomfortable. I turn to Sev and saw he doesn't seem to feel the same when he seemed genuinely happy and excited, the same expression he used when we discussed pranking James and Sirius last year, and gave them a thumbs-up, "Yeah, see ya then."

"Later, Snape, Jackson." They left with an attitude that rubs me the wrong way. Leaving an awkward-looking Lily who felt purposely left out and wasn't missed by me, which put them in the list of "Instant Dislike" but Sev didn't seem to notice that and just waved them off like old friends.

"I don't like them," I said bluntly.

Severus looked scandalous at me, "Why? They just helped to get me out from the girl's bathroom, otherwise, who knows how long I stayed there."

"Speaking of which," Lily cut in, "Why were you trapped inside there? You even shooed poor Myrtle when she could have called for help."

"You mean that annoying ghost girl? She doesn't look reliable enough for that, always moaning all day long." Lily scowled and crossed her arm in disapproval at his attitude, but Sev missed it completely, "And if you're wondering who was immature enough to put me there then you don't have to search hard from your own house Lily."

"James?"

"Who else?"

I sighed, should have known they were back with their old trick, and it's only been the first day. "They just can't stay away from us, can't they?"

"Percy, I know that face," Lily pointed disapprovingly.

"What face?" I asked with my utmost innocent look.

"Your Don't-Mess-With-Me-or-You'll-Pay-Face."

"You're just making that up, I don't have that face."

"Actually, you do," Sev defended her, "Your mouth would smirk, but your eyes would be glaring like you're promising a cold dish of revenge cooking up in that head of yours."

"I certainly don't do that... do I?"

Sev and Lily exchanged looks before bursting out laughing.


	6. A Night with a Prick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: Few days passed and things were as weird as it is normal. I took the time to appreciate the short time of no trouble until it comes knocking on the door.

"Ow! Geez, Sophia, I know you're still mad from me feeding you past due the other day, but no need for violence."

In response, Sophia pecked my hand again before deciding to ignore her favorite food brand and fly off to hunt instead. I watched her flying through the pink-purple-and-orange sky and rolling my eyes at her antics. Owl or not, all females are so temperamental. Seeing there's no need for me at the owlery, I walked back to my room while others were still soundly asleep, my legs fidgeting restlessly like it couldn't stay in place. The nightmares didn't help my case much either, so I thought a little walk by the lake would help clear my thoughts.

Then in the middle of me changing, the door burst open by none other by Marlene McKinnon. The new Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team. Just to be clear, I deny any claim that I screamed like a girl at that moment.

"Oh good Jackson, you're awake," she said airily like she hadn't just seen me half-naked, "You should hurry up and meet me at the Quidditch Pitch. It's time for practice."

"It's the crack of dawn!"

"Which means no one has booked the Quidditch Pitch yet."

"Fine, but a little privacy would be nice!"

"Oh, don't be so reserved. I have three little brothers back home. There's nothing I haven't already seen."

The follow up resulted in giggles from my roommate, if possible, made my face redder.

"Anything else you want to say, Captain?"

She looked up and down at me, with appraising look that made me want to cover my whole body with my robe before she smirked, "Nice Scooby-doo boxer by the way." Then she turned and walked out. The rest of us could only watch agape as if a storm had just passed. Which would be accurate, but I digress.

"Blimey, someone should put up a ward on our dorm." Cross let out. "Why should only the girls' dorm have it? This is sexist!"

Fifteen minutes later, after putting on my yellow Quidditch Robe and holding my broom, Pegasus, on my shoulder, I walked down the spiraling staircase. I found my other teammates already waiting in the changing room. I wasn't surprised to see the others weren't quite as awake as a cherry and enthusiast Mckinnon. Gideon Prewett was hiding his red and barely closed eyes with his open book, Chris River was pressed against the wall to keep himself from falling over, a fellow chaser of mine, Mason Malone, was yawning aloud, but most notably would be Jeremiah. The latter looked no less like that angry cat on the internet. And then there was our newest Seeker, a third-year named Howey Scott.

"Everyone's here? Good. Now I know all of you are tired this early in the morning, but now that I have unanimously been chosen as captain. There's going to be some changes around here. No more would we be the Duffer Team, where the expectations are low. Last year we made a great impression with Jackson's help, but we can't always rely on him, so we're going to up our training a notch or five and devise different strategies. With a little help from the brain of our team, Gideon?"

"Huh? Oh...yeah." Gideon got up and pulled out a large diagram of the Quidditch field, on which were drawn many lines, arrows, and crosses in different colored inks. He took out his wand, tapped the board, and the arrows began to wiggle over the diagram like caterpillars. He began explaining the training program for the future strategies we would use. You might expect I'd be one of the guys who half-listened and pretending to agree by nodding. Instead, I found myself impressed by the line of strategies planned out. It wasn't that far with the strategies I often found before a good game of Capture the Flag. I surprised everyone, including myself when I piped out in the middle of his explanation and made a few suggestions. I tried not to be offended at how surprised my team was at them. Besides, even I admit I was never one to plan ahead. I'm more of a react-on-the-fly kind of guy.

It ended up with me, Gideon, and the Captain discussing animatedly that even the rest woken up from their hazed mind. That just how much of a shocker I am. The only one who looked unimpressed was Jeremiah, not that I expect it from anyone else.

We had been in the locker room so long that the sun was up completely when we finally went out to field remnants of mist hung over the grass in the stadium. I was surprised to find Lily and Sev here since I hadn't had time to tell anyone. And it seemed only one of them was eager to be here if you looked at one of the pair that had tired droopy eyes compared to sparkling keen ones. I let you guess whose is whom.

"How are you guys here?"

Sev threw a pointed look at Lily. "Asked her, I'm only being drag here."

Lily smiled, her cheeks flush from the cold. "I met up with Gwen at the Great Hall. She happened to know about your early training today, so I thought we should be here as support like we always do."

"Not this bloody early in the morning," grumbled Sev.

"Hush, Severus. Anyway, we better not hold you back too long. Your teammates are waiting." Lily tilted her head to my team,. and I waved a short goodbye before going off our first early day of practice.

Well, that was the plan.

At first, nothing seemed to be off. Jeremiah was as snotty as ever. McKinnon proved to be a much sterner and more capable captain than Ted (no offense to him), our pair of beaters were better than better, and Howey was adjusting well with our team by the minute.

Then we had to cut time when I caught a bubble floating past me. I wouldn't have paid it any mind, but then the bubbles were multiplying by the minute that even the rest of the team paused to examine what was happening. It looked harmless and, in a way, the sight was nice. But the onslaught was becoming more annoying than pretty by the amount of it.

"Where did all these bubbles coming from?" the Newbie asked.

As if triggered by his voice, the bubbles began to pop. But instead of the expected small cold, wet burst, there was a loud pop that sounded like a crackling firework that even emitted heat and fire like one—surprising us. Gideon hissed when burst next to his cheek, and we got into a frenzied flight to get away, which resulted in popping up more of these bubbles.

Mason swerved aside and accidentally tackled Chris, Gideon almost fell off his broom, and the Newbie had his broom caught on fire and was flying around in panic. I had to call out his name many times for him to stop, but he barely listens.

I heard Lily calling out to me to stop him and moved aside to pulled him by the elbow, stopping him on track. Lily used this chance to pull out her wand and extinguished the flame. You would think the mess was over, but then a bunch of pigeons appeared and started pecking us. We all hadn't expected that and decided to land from our broom and began taking shelter from the insane birds that followed us.

"Bloody hell, what was that about?!" Jeremiah cried.

"No clue." Mckinnon answered, "Is everyone's alright; anyone got hurt?"

I glanced around, assessing how much of the damage, "Other than small burns, sprained ankle, and bird poo, I think we managed."

"Says you, They burned Arthur!"

I looked quizzically at the New Kid, "Arthur?"

"My broom. I had him since forever and its perfectly good tail is burned." Howey wept real tears, cradling his broom in his arms.

Mckinnon glanced at her team, realizing they were in no mood for practice at this and decided to cut the team practice short. I stayed for a while longer though. Sev and Lily came up to me to see if I was okay and brushed their worry away.

"What was that about anyway?" Lily asked, worry colored her voice.

"Someone obviously thinks it's a good way to sabotage your practice," Sev made his comment.

"And that someone had to do it from somewhere." I examined the tall towering audience booth surrounding the field. I rode on my broom, examining each booth. I didn't have much expectation and thought it would turn out fruitless, but that idea was immediately thrown out when I find a strange yet familiar device. It looked like a thin smoke pipe from the 1800s, but flatter and had holes on the handle like a recorder would have. Whether it was this magic device that made it pop exploding bubbles, I didn't know. But the fact that it's here meant that someone who owned must have been here. And the last time I saw something similar, I remembered someone had bragged about it on the breakfast table.

I went back to my friends and showed them my discovery. Their eyebrows raised at the item before they raised to watch me looking at it with simmering anger. "I think we need a word with a certain Gryffindor Git."

**. . .**

When we found James and his gang, he was laughing aloud with few other Gryffindor friends I didn't recognize at the courtyard, laughing at what I presume was a joke. Sev and Lily were a short step behind me. I pushed a few of the crowd away and finally faced him. I didn't say anything at first, just threw him his fancy magic tool, "You drop this."

His eyes briefly widen but quickly kept his smug facade, "Thanks, I heard you have practiced by the way, how was it?"

"Oh, like you don't know," Sev butted in, "We know it was you who sabotaged their practice."

"Hey!" yelled one of the unfamiliar Gryffindor group, "You want to say that again? Because don't think we'll let you snake off accusing one of our own."

"I'll say it again when it's true! And I'm pretty sure you had Black helping you."

The fat loud Gryffindor narrowed his eyes and then glanced at Lily, "You should have better sense in picking your friends Evans. Especially from a Slytherin."

"That's none of your business Collan," she growled out his name. "And what we have to say had nothing to do with you, so buzz off."

"Oh?" James finally piped up, "And what makes you think I had anything to do with this morning, Evans?"

"Cut the crap Potter!" If I didn't know any better, I'd say Sev was growling at him, "Percy found that Crackling Bubble Pipe of yours in the bench seat this morning. Try explaining that!"

"So? I must have dropped it when I was training with my team as Gryffindor's new chaser."

The three of us were identically gobsmacked at his revelation, "A new chaser? You?"

James grinned smugly at that point, "Yup, impressed Evans?"

Lily scoffed. "Hardly."

"Besides, compared to Percy, you're just a cheap knock off anyway," Sev tried to undermine him, and if James' scowl said anything, it works."Think you could grab _someone's_ attention now that you've joined your stupid ball game."

"Sev, you do know I play that 'stupid ball game' as you so called it."

"Case in point."

Leave it to Sev to insult both his enemy and friend at the same time without remorse.

"You don't even have proof so you can think all you like, Snivellus. Not surprising you would stoop this low, trying to make yourself more impressive than you are in front of Evans."

Sev's cheeks were aflame and looked like he was about to burst. Others might say he was angry from the deep scowl that rivals those angry cat memes, but Lily and me knew better that he was trying not to show how embarrassed he was.

James doesn't seem to care which one he was feeling and was just smug he could get a reaction from him, "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

"Sounds like you hit the bullseye James," Sirius chimed in, looking like he enjoyed the confrontation between us.

"I know. Ridiculous, ain't it? Thinking she would even look at you with something other than pity."

Severus gritted his teeth, "Shut up."

"Lily is just too nice too not indulge you in your little fantasies Snivellus. Like she'll ever see as anything more than a poor Slytherin kid who had a drunk useless old muggle dad."

"Who told you that?!" He yelled.

"Leave Sev and me out of this," Lily practically roared at them, "You have no right to say all that."

"Just stating the truth, Evans." James shrugged, acting he wasn't sure what he said wrong, and the grip of my tight fist wasn't enough to hold myself back. "After all, who would ever want a freak like you?"

Oh, that's it.

Letting my instinct know that I was up against a mortal kid, I pulled back my arm and punched him right at the jaw. I didn't feel a bit of remorse even when he fell to the ground, and his teeth were colored that matched his gum.

"Percy!" Lily cried. Her jaw dropped, scandalous by my behavior.

Sirius began pulling out his wand and aimed it at him, but Severus noticed and was quicker at drawing out his wand and disarming him.

My momentary lapse of focus at that was enough for James to take advantage of and tackle me to the ground. Maybe because I had provoked him physically, he didn't stop to attack me with magic instead.

I tried pulling him away, but he was a stubborn little bugger. I tried flipping him and put him against the floor while he had me pressed down, but he only used that momentum to twirl around again so I would stay on the floor but then I used that same trick against him, and James found himself kissing the stoned floor. He decided to kick me off and tried to get up before me, yet I didn't let him when I knocked his feet and made him tumbled down. I got before him, but James now latched on my back and held my head and neck between his hand. I tried hard to shake him away, but the familiar yell made us both freeze in place.

"What is going on here?!"

Everyone except the two boys who are still wrapped up with each other snapped their back straight at the angry voice of Professor McGonagall. Her expression mimicked her voice when she saw the still fighting pair of boys that hadn't register her presence and were hurling insults to one another.

"Jackson! Potter! What's the meaning of this?"

We finally stopped struggling, looking wide eyes as all of us finally discovered yourself under the scorn eyes of one of the sternest professor in Hogwarts in clear disapproval. Her cheeks reddened in fume, and she was close looking like she wanted to shoot lasers from her eyes. After snapping out of our shock, James and I pulled ourselves apart. Shrugging ourselves from the dirt and stood straight in front of her. My mouth flapped uselessly to utter some kind of excuse but none came. James wasn't saying anything either, which just prompt McGonagall to start lecturing us. Only this time, I can't say I don't deserve it.

"Never," she said hotly, "in my entire career in Hogwarts have I ever encountered such barbaric behavior. You both should be ashamed of yourselves. Now both of you come with me to my office, and I expect to hear no grumbling from any of you as I'll see to it to serve your detention personally."

With that, we followed behind the Professor. The terse silence was suffocating our words and the guilty conscience weight our body as we dragged ourselves to keep up with Professor McGonagall's hasty steps, her heels clicked loudly when she's usually this calm, collected person most of the time.

We arrived at her voice and it took a silencing glare from her for us to sit without having her said. I was never one too fond of Professor McGonagall. One of the reasons was that despite the age and experience I had, confronting her made me feel like I was that 12-year-old kid who people expect to be a problem kid and a disappointed, including myself. Now though, it felt like worse because of how childish I had acted. The pranks last year was one thing, but getting physical to a 12-year-old?! I mean- I'm his age physically, but mentally I'm six years his senior for Zeus's sake! I'm honestly surprised by my own action at the moment, and there was no excuse for it.

"Now," McGonagall began, her tone stone-cold to hide her churning fury and it managed to make us flinched, "Usually I would ask what the problem was from both of your perspectives and decide then the appropriate solution as well as befitting punishment from your action, but for once it doesn't matter why it happened because there's no excuse for you two to quarrel like a pair of wild nonsensical chattering turkey."

James and I raised an eyebrow at her choice of words but wisely made no comment or let a sign of snickering came out.

"So for your punishment, I will deduct 50 points from each of you and have you work for Mr. Pringle for one whole week. I expect no excuses at that time or I will hear about it. Understood?"

"Yes Ma'am." We both chorused.

She sniffed, "You are dismissed, and don't forget to check on Madam Pomfrey for your injuries."

It took everything for the two of us not to bolt right away, but we managed to keep a straight face as we walked out of her office. It was only after being a distance away did James locked eyes with accusing glare, "Nice work Jackson, you just got us a week worth detention, we're lucky we didn't get a month's worth or worse get; suspended from Quidditch."

"Oh, and you think you're so innocent, do you?"

"You were the one who started tackling me like a madman, Prissy!"

"As if you didn't deserve it, James. What you said about Sev was uncalled for and frankly, none of your business."

"It's not like I told any lies unlike certain someone," he made sure to make a pointed look at me.

"What are you-Oh come on! You're still hung up about that griffin and sword thing from last year?!"

"It sickens me watching you act like you're all innocent and normal when you're not. That no one sees to what you really are."

There was no need to deny that I wasn't normal to him, so I asked, "Are you that disgusted that I'm different?"

"...no," he said after a few moments of silence. His word made me pause to look at him in question, "It's not about that you're different...it's just...you just...you know what? Forget it. Just know that I'm watching Jackson, so you better watch your back."

 _Aaaand he's back,_ "I saved your life and this is the thanks I got? Remind me not to put my butt on the line for you next time."

He sniffed. "Oh, and I'm supposed to be eternally grateful and bow down to you, don't I?"

"What? That's not what I-Ugh, _**gios enós skýlou!**_ You know what? Never mind, you are insufferable. Go to Madam Pomfrey yourself, don't expect me to be anywhere around you."

"The feelings mutual!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

At the next intersection, we went our separate ways without looking back.

Then the same night we had to tolerate each other's presence, spending almost a whole minute silently glaring at one another without so much blinking. The sound of a wood staff hit the floor started us, and we turned to find the poised Mr. Pringle, mop on hand, and expecting us to follow him. He led us to the Astronomy Tower and gave each of us a mop.

"What? What do you want us to do?" James asked.

"Idiot. He wants us to mop the whole floor of the tower."

James' eyebrows shot up, "You're joking?! This is the tallest tower for a reason. It'd take us all night!"

Mr. Pringle quirked an eyebrow as if he didn't notice what the problem was. James groaned more loudly, and I began mopping straight away, not wanting to waste a second more with the spoiled brat.

Mr. Pringle watched us keenly as we work before he went elsewhere, leaving us to ourselves. James kept flicking his eyes at where Pringle was last seen before confirming he wasn't anywhere close. Then letting the mop fall and him alongside the rest his back to the wall. I stopped mopping in place of glaring at him, but James didn't so much as flinched, "Well, what are you doing?" he said, his chin up and voice smug, "Go do your job Jackson, we haven't got all day."

It took an effort for me not to twitch my lips into a smile, oddly fond memories of working on punishment on camps with less willing kids taught me how to handle this type of situation, "Are you seriously putting all the work on me? You know how bad of an idea that is, right?"

"You think you could make me work for you?"

It was hard not to roll my eyes or blew out an irritated huff, "I'm not trying to say that. Do you honestly think that Pringle would leave us alone here and doesn't make sure we do our work?"

That got his attention. A flash of fear I caught in his eyes before he forced out a laugh, "Yeah, right, nice try Jackson."

That only made me deadpanned at him, "James, we're in a wizardry school here. I don't know how you did things in your home, but do you actually think the school wouldn't have something as simple as keeping watch the student? But...if you believe you could get away with it, by all means, stay there as long as you want. I'll tell you this beforehand though whatever punishment cooked up worse than this? Good luck with that."

I turned my back and kept mopping at the steps so that I could hide the smirk I couldn't suppress. Sure I made up all of it, but it's not weird for a magic school to have some kind of surveillance, I just painted the idea on his head on the uses of it. It wasn't even my third step, mopping that I heard a second set of mop being used and really need to try not to laugh at how swell it is to mess with his head.

**. . .**

Somewhere in school, Severus had shiver crawled down his spine and whispered, "Percy is being a downright Slytherin again."

**. . .**

With the two of us working silently together, all with the goal to get away from the other in our mind. It was almost eleven at night that we were on our way downstairs, exhausted and sleepy... well, on James' case, I was mostly sleepy.

But that was washed away when a sound that hit my ear made me alert—pulling James back before he could step ahead of me. He was too tired to put up any fight, but he did shot me a brief annoyed look.

Another sound, this time much clearer, and it sounded like the something of weight being shifted to the side before hitting a wall.

"What was that?"

Not knowing the answer, I was silent. Thinking who could be out this late at night. It could have been nothing. I could have just ignored it and walked back to my dorm. But curiosity and gut instinct told me to be on guard whatever or whoever's there and checked it out—stopping short when I spotted the shadowed figure, absentmindedly standing while facing the wall.

What I didn't expect was James to think of the same thing and followed me, though I should have expected it. "What are you doing?"

"You're not the boss of me Jacks- look, he's on the move!"

He followed the retreating shadow. I didn't have a choice but to followed suit. Sneaking about with light footsteps down the stairs and out of the tower and back to school, making sure we were out of sight. Our growing curiosity ceased the tension between us. The distance made it hard for me to make out who it was we were tailing, but enough to watch him standing still while gazing intently at the walls, his hands caressing it either in search of something or he has some weird fetish with walls. After he seemed satisfied by his inspection, he pulled out a book and began scribbling something in it. Closed it. Then went off to somewhere we couldn't predict.

We exchanged glances, and to my surprise, I could tell we were both in the same mind to follow the mysterious act of this new teacher. We saw him doing the same things on various walls in different corridors, on paintings that made the enchanted portrait grumbled in being manhandled, on statues and the knight armors. And every time after his little inspection, he would pull out his book and write something in it.

"What do you think he's writing about?"

"I don't know, James. Can't know that when we don't even know what he was searching for or what the book is even about."

Our small quarrel was enough of a distraction for us to not look where we leaned on and pushed down the medieval knight armor, creating a loud crash as the heavy metal display hit the floor.

We hid as the figure turned. Looking restless and panic before putting an extra pace to walked out of the corridor.

We walked out from our hiding spot, beneath the shadow of a hallway corner. James shot me a look. "Nice going Jackson, we lost him!"

Usually, I would have snapped at him back, but my mind was still reeling when the dim torch glittered a silver charm bracelet I knew only one person in this school wore.


	7. Reminiscing Old Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: Apparently, most of you readers love how I get to punch the Prat James because he deserved it, so that actually lessen the guilt a bit. Thanks! Anyway, the detention was boring, but I'm already getting used to it. Though it was worse with James complaining beside me until the emerge of a mysterious character walking around Hogwarts raised question for the two of us.

Since that first night, every time James and me were serving our detention (While trying not to provoke one another with utmost effort), we were unnaturally wary with our surroundings. Wanting to catch a glimpse of Professor Heckler's odd action but never did since that night. So we were miserable the whole week and was more than glad when the end of the week came.

"Finally, I don't think I could spend one more day with him!"

"Uhm, not that it's good that your detention is about to be over, but can we return to the fact a mysterious figure was discovered to be acting suspiciously around the school?" Severus pressed, "And are you sure it was Professor Heckler?"

"Well, not anyone wore that charm bracelet around. Especially one that had a grave, knife, lizard, and other weird symbols attached to it. I'm telling you now those are serial killers charms."

"What serial killer would wear a charm bracelet?" Sev retorted with a snort.

Lily groaned at our argument, "Okay, first Percy there's no such thing as a killer charm so don't be dramatic. Second, Severus that is so not the point of our conversation."

"I admit I went off topic there, but Percy I hate to say this... but you're getting paranoid."

I almost missed the disappearing steps and would have tumbled down if Lily hadn't caught me halfway. I whipped my head back at him with opened mouth, "What?!"

"A Professor is crawling out at night and the first thing you can think of is that he's up to something no good. True, it was suspicious behavior, but what are the odds we have another Professor Rose?"

"Not that I think he's a spy, but you said it yourself he's suspicious."

"Yes, doesn't mean there's some big conspiracy act. Not everyone is out to wreak havoc in this school. You wouldn't get any studies done otherwise."

In normal circumstances, I would agree with him. In normal circumstances, I would have laughed at my own thoughts and brushed it off. In normal circumstances, I wouldn't even have played the idea of anything sinister happening in this school.

However, the circumstances are far from normal. I'm in a wizard school, searching for an evil witch, Voldy Lord spreading power, a jinx school position, and not having my decision deciding the fate of the world. So yeah, forgive me for being paranoid but I'm less inclined to risk everything for not being the least bit vigilant.

But out of everyone, I would think Severus would agree on my case. I eyed him and his out of character antics, "What's up with you Severus? You're usually the first one to jump in these "conspiracy" theories."

"While I'm glad Severus grew some sense in his head," Sev sputtered at Lily's words, "but Percy got a point. You're usually the excited one when you've got a mystery to solve."

Sev fidgeted a bit, his eyes looking anywhere but her Lily's concerned green emerald eyes, "Listen, all I'm saying is that not everything has to be some deep undercover mystery. For all we know, Professor Heckler was trying to find the kitchen for some midnight snack. I don't know. Anyway, my class is this way, see ya."

Lily and me watched as he made a hasty retreat until he turned a corner, losing him from our sight.

"I'm worried about him Percy," Lily confessed, "He's been a bit out of it since that time we confronted that no-good scamp James. Do you think his words got to him?"

"Maybe," I couldn't help agree, "Pointing out his dad had really thrown him off. It always was a touchy subject for him."

"At least now he would watch what he says around Sev next time, I think he had enough from you socking him good."

"Did I heard that right? Lily Evans actually commending me for punching a bloke's face?" You could just hear the grin in my tone.

"Shut up." Lily lightly slapped my arm and I couldn't help the laughter I let out. She smiled back at me.

Later on, when lunch rollover. A single owl came flying and landed a small letter at my side. I eyed it with some suspicion since I wasn't expecting any letter from anyone, but my tensed shoulder had sagged when I noted the rough, messy handwriting of my half-giant friend.

_Percy, I know you have afternoon off today. I know it's a bit sudden but would you like a cup of tea after lunch and have a little bit of chat? Your welcome to invite your friends over. I'll be at my hut. Send me an answer back with Sophia._

_Hagrid_

It was a bit of a surprise to hear from him and the sudden invite he made, but I wasn't averse to it either. Heck, I was more excited about meeting up with him. I didn't get to thank him enough for covering me up on my late coming at school. I made a quick reply note that I would be coming over soon, and giving a sign to Lily and Sev by pointing at the door with two of my fingers. A sign we recently made whenever we needed to talk without calling out attention. A quick nod told me they noticed and once I was done with my meal. I was gratified the three of us finished up at the same time and showed them Hagrid's letter and both agreed to properly meet him. Lily especially was excited. It had slipped my mind that she hadn't met him and thought it's high time they did.

We went out of the castle and to his small cabin at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Though not quite so forbidden considering how many times I slipped in and got a horde of angry centaurs now aiming at my back.

A surprising sight, however, made us paused. There, standing outside by the door of the hut, and looking like who was arguing with Hagrid, was Professor Heckler. The reminder of our talk before was brought forth in my mind, and I bet the same for my pair of friends. We rushed to the side of the hut, out of sight, but close enough to overhear them talking.

"Em tellin' ya I don' know what you're talkin' bout, ya have the wron' person to talk to!"

Another _Deja Vu_ washed over me at the familiarity situation; a confronted Hagrid being questioned by a DADA Professor. Hope this isn't going to be a thing. Unlike last year, I could tell Hagrid was a lot angrier. His voice boomed loud, close to livid and so uncharacteristically coming from the soft-spoken half-giant I came to know.

"Surely you don't expect me to believe that? I've read about you Mr. Rubeus, and as someone who was able to find the Chamber of Secret. I'd like to know if you came upon more than only a mere beast."

"An' I'm tellin' ya yer wron'! I knew nothin' o' the chambe'"

"If that's true then why had the school board decided to break your wand?" that got a gasp from Sev, I shushed him but thankfully they didn't hear us.

"I tol' yeh, tha' was a misunderstandin'

Now if yeh don't have anything worth sayin' then I suggest yeh get out o' my sight!"

Heckler didn't so much as flinch as the barking words toward him and curtly nodded in response. As if being polite at the last moment would brush off everything he had said, "I'll cease my questioning, for now, Mr. Rubeus, but I am a persistent man and I do get what I want, one way or another." He began walking back to the castle, and we were glad he did not look back and spot us eavesdropping.

Once we were sure he was out of sight, and Hagrid sighed heavily, we jumped right out and startling the big guy. "Blimey Percy, where did yeh pop out from? Wait... were you three eavesdroppin' on us?"

Lily blushed at the spot-on statement, Sev looked passive as ever, and I just grinned unashamedly, "Sorry, we didn't mean to, but we were on our way meeting you and it sort of happened."

Hagrid didn't look appreciative of our curious nature, but being a good friend as he is, he let it slide and gestured us to come inside. His eyes locked on to our fiery redheaded friend and beamed a smile hidden beneath his bushy beard, "'Ello, yeh must be Lily. Percy tol' me all about a fellow Gryffindo'"

Lily blushed some more but then made a wide bright smile, "You're a Gryffindor?"

He strode to the kitchen and fetched some mugs for us, "Yep, always wanted to meet yeh."

"Likewise, Percy told me a lot about you."

"Not that I don't mind the chit-chat," Severus cut in, not harshly but dispassionately, "but I'm more interested in hearing why Professor Heckler was here and was asking about your expulsion."

"Expulsion?!" the two of us cried out, shocked made our eyes wide and mouth agape at our host.

Lily snapped first and slapped Sev's arm for being blunt and rude while I kept my eyes at Hagrid, "You were expelled? How? Why? And how in Zeus's name did you know about it, Severus?"

Hagrid was already red in embarrassment and looking like he wanted the ground to swallow him. Severus, taking no note of this, continued on, "Professor Heckler mentioned about your wand being broken by the school board. That only happens when you get expelled."

"But... why did they expel him? Hagrid's the most swell guy I know in this school, and I doubt Dumbledore would trust him being the school's groundskeeper if he weren't"

"Aaaw, you're too kind Percy," Hagrid said, grinning, "Yeh don't have ter be worked up ove' me."

"Hagrid, I've been expelled six times throughout my life. I know better than anyone how far of a line it takes to get you expelled. A magic school more so and I know you're the type that stays out of trouble...well, mostly if you ignore your obsession with beasts."

"Oi! Em not obsessed, just... enthusiastic. And did I 'ear that right? You were expelled six times. How did that happen?"

"One for every school he transferred," Sev explained.

"Never seems to stay for more than a year," Lily added with a giggle.

"Another glaring example of why wizards aren't meant for muggle school," Sev expressed.

"Hey, I went to muggle school and turned out just fine!" Lily snapped with no bite in her words.

Hagrid watched the playful banter between them and suddenly laughed boisterously that he slapped his thigh to contain his mirth. Wiping away the tears he said, "Oh, yeh got great friends Percy, I can see why yeh like them so much. Only yeh would have such a good pair of friends between Slytherin and Gryffindor."

My grin couldn't help but match his, "Don't I know it." my face grew solemn once more as I tried to broach the topic again, "Sorry I burst out like that, I didn't mean to push you like that. You don't have to tell us anything if you don't want to, we just can't help ourselves asking you."

"It's fine, yeh were just concern." He brushed it off, "It happened in the middle o' my third year o' Hogwarts. 1943, the firs' time teh Chambe' o' Secrets was open." That elicited a gasp from us. Lily was stricken that it exist, Sev was more surprised Hagrid was there to witness it.

"You were there when the chamber was first open?"

"I thought it was just a legend to scared off muggle-borns."

"Oh, mos' students thought so too, even teh ones who had experienced the horror o' teh incident 29 years ago. They didn't know wha' exactly had happened othe' than two things; the Chambe' was opened, and mugglebo'ns were targeted and hurt by that time. The las' victim turned out ter be ol' Myrtle, now haunting that abandoned bathroom o' hers."

Really? Moaning Myrtle? Can't say I blame her now for moaning all the time if she died in a tragedy.

"What does that story have to do with you?" Sev asked.

Hagrid looked away again, he shifted his body as if he wanted his large frame to be small, and licking his dry lips. "Before I tell yeh this, I wan' yeh ter know that I have nothin' teh do with all this and that I did nothin' wrong I tell yeh. Nothin'!"

We weren't expecting on his insistence but nodded nonetheless, and Hagrid sagged in relief after. "When the attack started, it was at by that time I first met Aragog. Yeh remember Aragog, right Percy?"

I tilted my head, "Isn't he that Giant-man-eating-spider you kept in the forest?"

That made Sev shot up from his chair, "You kept an Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest, are you insane?!"

"Sssshhh, please don' shout it ter teh world. Aragog is a nice spider; he wouldn' hur' a fly as long as em around. Trust me. I had him for almost three decades now, and he never caused a problem." Sev pursed his lips but nodded in acceptance before sitting back down, "Thank yeh. Where was I? Oh yeah, back then Aragog was just a little spider, couldn' harm anyone then and decided to take care of it. I fed it secretly in a hidden cupboard in school an' didn' tell anyone. But Tom, a Slytherin student, somehow caught me with him and thought I was the one who set loose the chamber's beast. They blamed me, and I ended up expelled. I tried telling them it wasn't Aragog or me, but they wouldn't listen, and the killing had stopped when they accused me, so they settled the case closed. The only person who believed in me was Dumbledore and so later on when there was an opening job as the groundskeeper, he offered it ter me so here I am."

The four occupants of the small hut sat undisturbed as we let the story settled and processed. Poor Hagrid, he kept fidgeting in place, anticipating our reaction. I was already having a hard time trying to think of the word to say. What would be the right thing to say to a guy who was accused of being responsible for the harm and death of students, and ended losing his only means of doing magic? I was much more surprised Hagrid even accepted working here. If it were up to me, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near any reminder of what I'm sure was a horrible memory—much less watching kids coming to learn to Hogwarts and graduating with a wand on their hands every year without getting bitter. Heck, even as he told his story, I didn't note a single tone of resentment he had to this Tom-guy who he thought had been doing his job to keep the school safe. It became more apparent to me how much bigger his heart was than his big self.

"So what was Professor Heckler doing?" Lily finally broke the silence that was stretching uncomfortably, "I say it was quite rude of him to drag up your past like that forcibly."

"Well, that's the funny thing," Hagrid began with a scratched of his bearded chin, "Professo' Heckler was convinced I was teh one who opened teh chamber an' demanded me how and where it was. I kept denying it but he wouldn' take no fer an answer. Even askin' me what was it was like and if there were any clues left from the Founder's Time. Not like I could hav' tell the difference if I had even bin' there."

"Do you have any idea what he might be cluing on Hagrid?"

"None, although... now that you mention it... he did... no, that would be ludicrous... but is he mad enough?" Hagrid's voice turned softer in every word and began mumbling to himself, leaving us to dust in his thought.

"Hagrid," I snapped at him, "Care to share the class what's on your mind?"

"It's nothin'...just remembered anothe' legen' passed down in school about teh ol' treasure o' Hogwarts."

"I've heard of it," Lily leaned forward excitedly, "It's a story passed down around the Gryffindor House about a hidden chamber of Godric's that kept his most prized possession, not many know it seemed, and they are many version of its background. Some say it's where he hid all his accumulated wealth since there were no Gringotts at the time, some said that it's where he kept his powerful weapons and magical item from his time in the war. Some said he had kept a dragon inside the school to fight back the beast kept in the Chamber of Secret so his house would have a way to fight off the hidden evil in the future."

Hagrid nodded at her words, "Exactly. When it was known the Chamber was opened, there was a crazed admits the Gryffindor House on finding Gryffindor's Lost Treasure in the hope to fight off whatever we were dealing with. Yet, with more victims coming and no sign of said legend of his treasure, they pretty much gave up quickly. I'm surprised they still told that story."

"So what you're saying Professor Heckler might be looking for said legendary treasure?"

"I know, it's crazy ain't it?"

"But not impossible, and it's not the craziest thing I've heard. I've met a lot of people who believed in even more unlikely things."

Sev snorted, "Considering he had gone on and on about Hogwarts and its founder, it's not that surprising."

"But Gryffindor's Lost Treasure," Lily said with a bright gleam of her emerald eyes, smile widening that showed her pearly teeth, "Do you think it might be real? Kept hidden all these centuries until it was denounced as a mere legend. Imagine what could be hidden right under our nose without anyone ever realizing."

Sev and me exchanged knowing glances and a smile on our faces, "Looks like someone wants to take a look of this treasure."

Lily blushed, "So? Nothing wrong with a little bit curious. No harm from trying."

"Sorry to burst your bubble Lily," Sev said evenly, "but we are talking about an almost a millennia-old secret hidden within the bowels of the school. What are the chances we or anyone can find it?"

"You'd be surprised Severus," I cut in before Lily could reply, "but sometimes, even the most hidden secret, could be revealed from just being in the right place at the right time."

Sev couldn't help glare at the stupid grin I was wearing, "So what you're essentially saying is dumb luck."

"Pretty much, yeah. How do you think I survived this whole time?"

Sev groaned aloud that he rested his forehead at his hand, "I can't argue with that."

Lily and me laughed at his reaction before a sudden reminder, whirled my head back to Hagrid, "You know, you never told me why you wanted to see me today."

His eyes flashed at the reminder, "I didn', didn' I? I wanted ter ask yeh if it was true tha' yeh punch a Gryffindo' kid an' got detention for it. I didn' believe what I 'ear and wanted a straigh' answe' from yeh."

I fidgeted in place and scratched the back of my neck, looking anywhere else but at Hagrid, wincing when I realized how guilty I must be looking like from his eyes.

"It wasn't Percy's fault!" Lily immediately got up to defend me, "That Stinky James insulted Sev and provoke Percy."

"But if I 'eard right, Percy was the one who threw the first punch, right?" Lily whimpered a bit before reluctantly nodded at the truth. "Now I know yer a good person Percy, but it's shamin' that yeh would resort ter violence like that. I don' expect you not to defend yer friend, that's an honorable thin' fer yeh ter do, but yer a smart kid. Yeh should know there are better way teh solve things." Hagrid's voice was stern but there was an edge of softness as if he was talking to someone of an equal rather than a child, and I couldn't help but appreciate the respect he's giving me. Not even a superiority tone for being an elder like I would have expected when being scolded.

I sighed, "Yeah, I know. I shouldn't have done that. My temper got the best of me and I snapped when I shouldn't."

Hagrid nodded, his smile was warm when he accepted my genuine felt words, "As lon' as you understand."

We chatted a little bit more about our days and bid our goodbye to Hagrid and kept on talking as we walked back up to the castle, revising what we had learned. About the Treasure and Hagrid's expulsion.

"I know Hagrid couldn't be the one responsible for the incident three decades ago. He's too sweet for that." Lily argued, she bit her lips and hesitated to say the rest of her mind, "But is it possible that giant spider of his could still be involved? I mean... it could have attacked the students while he wasn't looking."

For a beat, I sunk a breath at the prospect I didn't consider, feeling dread at the potential tragic story that ended up having Hagrid responsible for the death involved, even involuntarily. The idea would crush the guy if it was true.

"I think that's very doubtful," Sev retorted, "Acromantula only started eating people when they're fully grown and at the young age that Hagrid described, would mean he was feeding him rats or the like. Not strong enough to even kill anyone unless it's with its horde. And even if it had been bigger than what he told us and roamed the school, they wouldn't be capable of finding the death victims," Sev explained in a so sure tone that dispelled doubt like a cut from a sword. It's one of the things I was glad having someone who knows what they're talking about instead of fumbling through a situation and second-guess thing as I alway- often do.

"Why is that?"

"Because the Acromantula would have eaten the person whole." the two of us blanch at the morbid image Sev had painted us, and the person himself looked like he had just pointed out the weather. Nonchalant and uncaring. "Though some I heard, would leave some bones behind but that's not the point. The point being, there were reports of injuries and one death but no missing person so we can conclude whatever it was, wasn't an Acromantula."

Though I could have done it without the gruesome fact, it was relieving to find that Hagrid was completely innocent, "Then what could it be then?"

"Who knows," Sev shrugged, "but that doesn't matter-ow! What was that for Lily?"

"For being a tactless idiot. What do you mean it doesn't matter? You were brilliant and were able to prove Hagrid's innocent!"

Sev blushed before he could make out coherent words and had to clear his throat, "It's still flimsy evidence, Lily. What's done is done, nothing can take back the 29 years that Hagrid lost even if people know the truth now."

"Poor Hagrid," Lily deflated, and I had to pat her back to let her know her sentiment was shared.

"Anyway weren't we talking about the Lost Treasure? Suppose if we try and search for it, what's the first step in finding it?"

I thought through Sev's words and couldn't really find an answer to that, "Now that you mention it, I'm not sure. Lily, did you hear anything more about the legend? Anything at all that might be a clue of where it might be hidden?"

To our dismay, she shook her head, "No, all I hear was that the Gryffindor's Treasure is hidden somewhere in Hogwarts, that's all."

"Okay, so all we need is more information."

"Then should we go to the library?"

"I don't think that would help much," Lily sighed a bit resignedly, "I tried to learn more about Hogwarts last year and search more books circled around the Four Founder but other than the fact that they were close friends, created Hogwarts, and a dispute caused Salazar Slytherin to fall out with his friends, there wasn't much."

"Great," Sev said it like it was cursed, and I shared his sentiment, "Where else could we get information from millennia ago?"

There was a shared silence between us as we brainstorm. My smile broke when I flashed an idea, and my two friends leaned forward to listen, "You know, a very Hogwart enthusiast is currently running around this very school probably in search for said treasure. Want to try testing out how much his mouth would slip?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is still healthy and safe! 
> 
> Don't forget to leave kudos! GIVE ME YOUR LOVE!!!!! * cough and shove my yandere aside *


	8. Read It and Seek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: After the surprising revelation of Hagrid's past. The three of us intend to get the bottom of one of the old legend of the school.

A week of having learned from Professor Heckler about the Dark Arts, showed you enough how he teaches his students. He would lecture his class by referencing the book, he would often bring a magical being in class and demonstrate how to handle them as he lectures, but almost at every lecture, he would derail his topic into a weird sort of praise toward one of the Four Founders or at the school itself.

When the bell rang for lunchtime, the class huddled around without meaning to and walking toward the Great Hall where food was ready for them to partake.

Instead of doing just that however, Lily Evans was standing in front of the DADA Professor's office. Her arm raised to knock but not, sighing dejectedly at her bad luck. Before any part of her mind could convince her otherwise, Lily finally forced herself to knock.

"Yessssh?" Lily gulped nervously, wishing strongly that Sev or Percy would be here but they agreed it would arise a slight suspicion when kids from different House would ask the same specific question.

She opened the door and her eyes roamed at the interior. The office has changed since the last time she's been here. There were more bookshelves enough to easily mistake the place for the library, there were recognizable words and titles but most looked like were written from Old English. Gone were the couches and coffee table that gave the room a homey feel. The walls were decorated with maps, paintings the founders in various poses, and old decor she wouldn't surprised if it was an artifact. The place looked more like his personal study than his work office.

"Ah, Misssh Lily Evanss," Lily snapped her eyes back to her teacher, "to what do I owe you your presshence?" he gestured his hand for her to take a seat in front of his desk and she was glad she took it. She didn't know how long she could hide her shaking knees otherwise.

"I...I've been wondering to ask this for some time, but...may I ask more about the Four Founder of Hogwarts from you Professor?" It was hard to hide her nervousness as kept fiddling with her finger. Hopefully, he would think her of being just shy.

That finally made him perked up from his book, "Why Misssh Evansss, I didn't know you had such interesssh."

"Oh I loved Hogwarts and so I've been trying to look into on its history and how it was created, but there doesn't seem to be any information regarding the Founders personally and it struck me as strange."

"Well, I can only hypothesize that they were all very private about their personal Hissstory. Not many could quite gather such information unlessssh you're a direct desshendent of them or trying really, really hard to uncover it."

"Then can you teach me about them? I thought if anyone could inform me about the Founders it'd be you, Professor, seeing how well informed you are."

Heckler rubbed his chin in thought, "True, you won't find anyone with my kind of knowledge anywhere but even I have my limits on what I know."

"It would still be much help, I'm really curious about them and you're the only reliable help I know at this particular topic." Lily inwardly cringed that she might not be subtle in her act, but rolled with it anyway. Thankfully, Professor Hecker didn't seem to mind and was contemplating her request.

"Hmm, very well." Professor relented, "What would you like to know Dear?"

' _Okay, Lily. Remember, subtle and gradual_.' she ordered herself and took a deep breath, bringing out her true feelings of her curiosity about Hogwarts ou before finally asking, "Why don't we start with the earliest information you know about them?"

"You must mean their origin story. Sadly I don't have that depth of knowledge but I do know why four seemingly different people, of different backgrounds, decided to create a school for young wizards and witches."

"I knew not how they came to be," he began, "but at some point in time, they were involved in a war...well, I say war but compared to the recent war we were exposed to, it was more of a skirmish between muggles and wizards, and might even be the start of the old long practice of wizard persecution."

"In the old days, wizards instead of being discriminated against were once very highly regarded. They were obligated to work for the king, to advise him as his advisor, and to fight for him as his knights. One would think that one's birth to wield magic are fated to live a life of wealth and comfort with the king as their sponsor and master in life. It was a given fact. There wasn't a conventional way for a wizard to track one another as we do now so most wizards live their lives without knowing they were one. Especially muggle-borns."

"Yet, some wizards began to feed the idea that their gift should make them superior to muggles, and that they should bow down to them, including the king. These things caused unrest and shook the once lovely peaceful kingdom - now that I think about it, it's not that different to what we're experiencing, history bounds to repeat itself. Anyway, where was I? Ah yes - The war lasted for 50 years and it tore the kingdom apart."

"I can imagine it clearly in my mind," The professor whispered with wistful tone, an edgy smile came to place, "the discrimination between two kinds of being, the unrest, the bloodshed, the scream of anger and fear echoing the masses."

Lily was beginning to feel impatient, she wanted to ask straight to the point but couldn't without arousing suspicion so she cleared her throat, "Professor?"

"Oh, my apologies, got carried away. It was a war between muggles and wizards, you might think the answer to that skirmish was obvious. But then few wizards such as Muggle Borns and Blood Traitors had preferred to side with the muggles, thinking their gift is god's way to serve the king and masses in need. The number was in their favor and so the King's side won."

"You would think things would go back to how they were with the rebels going into hiding,m or sentenced to death. Oh but instead, it was the point where everything changes. The King who had to experienced the war became afraid of the wizard's potential and for another rebellion, so he tricked the wizards that had to help them in the war and sentenced then to death. Announcing a new rule that it is forbidden for anyone to use wield magic."

That got Lily's attention, "Wait, but what about Merlin? Wasn't he a known wizard that got to work under King Arthur?"

"You're very well informed. Yes, Arthur was the only ever royal muggle that came close to putting peace between wizards and muggles had he not died so soon."

"And how is all this related to the founding of Hogwarts?"

Professor Heckler chuckled, "Patient Misssh Evanssh, I wassh just getting to that. The wizards began to hide or flee, but it didn't stop the muggle's hunt for them. It wasn't as bad as the Witch Hunt around the 18th Century which was ghastly, but many victims were hunted and given the death sentence all the same. Most were children." Lily gasped, horrified at the revelation but Heckler didn't stop. "It couldn't be helped, most children were not attuned with their magic just yet so they are prone to accidentally invoke it. This is when the Four Founder came in, deciding to accommodate the children all over England a safe haven. So they went out of their way to build a school at a remote place up north to do just that and preserve the wizarding community."

Lily didn't need to fake her interest at the history lesson she was given, "So you're saying that Hogwarts isn't originally a school but a way for the Wizards to hide all the children from the hunting masses?"

"Correct, and it worked too. There was a bit disagreement as you may know at the start of the school founding and Slytherin decided to estrange himself from the others."

Lily perked up. Finally, they were getting close to her chosen topic. "I heard of that, something about the Chamber of Secret? Do...do you think it's real? That something here is after Muggleborn?"

"Do you really want to know my honessh opinion?"

"Okay," she wisely decided not wanting any said confirmation of anything deadly was in this school, "then what about the other Founders? Surely they must have their own secret chamber of something? I would think Gryffindor, being his rival and all, would want to have his own super-secret chamber tucked within this school."

Professor Heckler eyed critically at her and Lily nearly bristled at his sharp gaze, her heart pounds of what he might see through from the few utter words and the tale tell of her body movement, "As a matter of fact yessh, all four of them had their own hidden chamber being used in some form whether the school's know it or not. My findings are all just hypothesis from resssearch. For example, I had confirmation from previous graduates of Hufflepuff's Room of Requirement. A room that would randomly appear in the 7th Floor with everything you need, I still have trouble on how it appears. Then there's Ravenclaw's Tower of Entry, whatever that is, the only reason I could confirm its existence was from The Grey Lady and it was tough getting it out of her. Lastly…" Heckler paused. Biting his lip before finally answered, "Gryffindor's Chamber of Legacy."

Lily immediately perked up, "I knew it! So what does the legend specifically says about this one?"

Heckler looked conflicted, he did open his mouth but before he could say anything there was a loud bang and crackling sound outside the room that made them jumped on their seats.

The boom and crackling resounded again from the door, followed by the unmistakable sound of children's laughter. Professor Hecker seemed eager to address the problem whatever it was outside. He shot Lily an apologetic smile but showing his jagged colored teeth didn't reassure her, "Pardon me, looks like I have a student to sort to." Then he got up and made a long hasty stride to the door, and slamming it closed. His shout was muffled when it did.

Lily cursed at her luck. ' _Perfect_ ' she thought, ' _Just when he was about to say something juicy, he had to be called out_.'

Being alone in the office, if possible, made her more nervous than before. Her eyes kept darting around the room, to the assortment of beasts being kept, the shelves of foreign books, the many interesting artifact and trinkets strewn around along the shelves, table and hung on the walls.

Then her eyes locked at the book laid innocently on his desk. The same book she observed he kept on hand or at arm reached in class. Most likely, the same book Percy saw him with at the night of his suspicious act.

Lily glanced back at the door. Closed and there was no sign of anyone coming over to his office. With a split-second decision, she bit her lip hard before finally coming at the desk.

She cautiously touched the book, afraid it might trigger a trap-like spell, and instead felt the smooth leather beneath her fingertips. The Hogwarts insignia is sewn artistically on the cover with great precision. She sunk a breath, finally turning the first page.

She couldn't quite read the writing as it was no different to Professor Heckler's usual chicken scratch but that was only the many side notes made around different handwriting that was almost obscured. It was written in a foreign language, Old English to be precise and mixed with a few Latin but that was as far as she knew, and there was no translation to help her understand so she had to rely on the side notes.

She skimmed the words, turning the page in haste. Some underline words of the journal were being pointed by what she assumed was the translation. There was one side note that had a list of rooms she recognized of Hogwarts but most had been crossed out. Most words were too cryptic for her to understand, like " _Begin the climb, wolf howl?_ " and " _Beware of Bloat Cookies!"_ There was also random fun facts such as " _Underground wine cellar, possibly Ravenclaw's secret stash_ " or " _Torture chamber under the Weeping Angel Statue, in front of the dungeon._ " The last bit almost made her shudder through her whole body. There was even a page that was almost covered with the current owner's writing that the page's original writing was barely salvageable. Until she stopped at one page that took her notice.

' _FIRST PRIORITY!_ _Unknown_ _Architect → Aaron Swagger'_

' _Open Password_ _Spell'_

' _Private Tower? Sanctuary'_

"Architect? And what kind of name is Swagger?" she mused. Lily committed the writing to her memory, closed it, and rushed toward another door. Her heart banged her chest, excited from a new discovery that made her feet leap and wanted to get out as fast as she could before the memory slip away.

She opened the door and instead of the wide-open hallway, her face smashed into a soft wall before she could stop herself. The "wall" toppled a bit, before realizing she had bumped into James.

"James, what are you doing here?"

James was bewildered for a second before schooling his expression, "I should ask you the same thing. Quite odd of you to be in this office alone. Sneaking around, aren't you? I knew you had it in you, Evans." James tried to give her a bright disarming grin he knew would charm most girls and women.

Lily wasn't the slightest impress and glared at him, knowing a diversion tactic when she met one. "If you must know, I was just talking to Professor Heckler to discuss a few materials I didn't quite understand which he happily obliged. Not everyone has a prank in mind like you do James. Should I be worried about what you are up to?" there's an underlying threat in her tone as she crossed her arm in challenge. James was not expecting to be cornered like this and gulped.

"Is it so hard to believe that I came for the same reason? Look I got the book and stuff," he said and showed her his DADA textbook he had on hand.

Lily didn't let off her suspicious glare but decided she did not care on what kind of mischief he had in store and to leave him be. Not wanting to be involved in any way of the trouble he had in store. She shook her head and left him to his own device. The door to one Professor's office laid open, enticing one naughty Gryffindor to work.

**. . .**

Before it was time for dinner; Severus, Lily, and I reconvene on what her little mission got us and listening intently what she got for us. In the end, though as great as she was at it, I was a bit miffed.

"Why didn't you ask him?!" I almost cried aloud.

"I didn't think it was important!" she defended.

"But Lilyyy," I whined, "I know you're just as curious as I am on why the Hades did they decided to put "Don't Tickle the Sleeping Dragon" as their school motto. I mean...in what context does that motto work for a school? And how in Gaea's name led them to put it in a school motto at all?! It's been in my mind since last year and no one knows the answer."

"I don't know! If you're so curious, ask him yourself!"

Severus moaned at the ridiculous fight we're having and I didn't miss him rubbing his temple in circle. "Can't we put aside the useless conversation and addressed the critical information we just got."

"We got critical information?" I asked, genuinely not knowing where his thought was going.

Lily, on the other hand, was beaming, "Care to share the rest of the class?"

"Not yet, it's still more of a guest but I think I have something in mind about the line concerning The Architect. But testing that theory would mean we've got to sneak through the castle past curfew, tonight."

"Uuh...Sev, You do remember I have detention tonight right? With James constantly on my side?"

Sev made a rare mischievous smile and I felt there were ants crawling on my spine. Looks like he already had a plan on mind.


	9. Another Cliche Secret Entrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: Knowing Professor Heckler's not-so-mysterious pursuit for the Hogwarts Lost Treasure. The small revelation of his notebook gave Severus Clue of what might be the start of a scavenger hunt.

Tonight's detention had involved us in cleaning the 7th floor. And I'm talking about the entire floor, meaning we had to mop, dust, wiped, probably even lick if we have to so we could get the whole place spotless. I knew it was going to be another long night then. James had not even uttered a single complaint like I expected, seemingly used to cleaning the absurd amount of cleaning he had to do. We didn't even need to talk before we began mopping the floor, our movement in sync without a single word or eye contact exchanged.

We were in the middle of dusting off the paintings, ignoring the constant nagging that some of the portraits kept at it on us. My throat was beginning to feel dry, and I looked at the nearest clock that told me it was 10:55. I searched through the inner pocket of my robe and pulled out a small flask, taking a small swig of the pumpkin juice.

I couldn't help but glanced at James, dusting a set of knight armor. Biting my lip in contemplation before sighing out loud enough to make him turn, and offered him a drink. James raised an eyebrow at my uncharacteristic behavior.

"Look, you and me have problems and disagreements, I'm not going to deny that. But I don't want our fight to drag on more than necessary that we can't talk without wanting to punch the other. I'm not above civilized talking and avoiding getting another detention."

"Isn't that what you do in your free time?" he sneered.

"See! That's what I'm talking about. You don't like me. I get it. But you can't even try talking to me like any other person as if you're goading trouble. I don't know about you, James, but I'm not looking forward to another bout of cleaning the castle or for worse punishment." James was silent in which I assumed he was considering my words, as a final nudge, I offered my flask once more and looking at him with a hopeful glint, "So... truce?"

He looked intensely at my face, not saying anything until he yanked the flask out of my hand without breaking eye contact. Sniffing suspiciously of it, "What this supposed to be?"

"A sleeping potion," I rolled my eyes at his suspicious act, "It's just a pumpkin juice, James."

Without another word, he took a swig of the drink.

James smiled, his parch throat feeling satisfied.

The next second, his eyes rolled back to the back of his head and slumped down to the floor, unconscious.

I looked down at his unmoving form, nudging a bit with my feet to make sure he was really out of it. Then I picked him up by the shoulder and searched for the nearest room for me to hide him, preferably a cupboard or a janitor's closet.

To my luck, I caught sight of said closet within sight that I didn't remember was there before but didn't waste time before I was pulling him toward the closer and shoved him inside along with our duster. Then I dashed down the stairs until I reached the Entrance Chamber where Lily and Sev were waiting for me. Sev had his arm crossed, his back rested on the wall in a calm posture, but I noticed his eyes were on alert. Lily was biting her nails and pacing back and forth. Her usual slick raging red hair was slightly disheveled.

"You look like you've been swarmed by pixies."

Lily jumped at my voice and turned to me, her face was obviously nervous, "Thanks, it's not every day that I'm acutely aware of breaking the rules."

"You weren't this anxious the last time we went out."

"Well, last time I was too busy worrying about Sev and how to bring him back while running around from possessed sleep-zombies."

Sev couldn't help the grin he let out, "You were worried about me?"

Lily glared at him, "That's what you focus on?" she shook her head and looked back at me, "By the way, did it work?"

"I'm here, aren't I? Got to say, Sev, it's a good thing you brought this flask." I played around the flask I had in hand that could store two types of drink with a flip of a switch near its lip. Inside was a pumpkin juice and a pumpkin juice laced with sleeping potion.

"Can't deny my old drunk dad doesn't have his uses. I didn't even realize I had even packed it. He must have accidentally put it among my baggages."

"So Sev, what exactly do you have in mind?"

He smirked and gestured us to the entrance door, Lily and me both turned and noticed the giant gold statue standing on the side. The statue was holding a model of Hogwarts on one of his wrinkly old hands, and a scroll in the other. Whoever the sculptor was a really a good one because after having a real good look, you would notice the meticulous pattern of his turban and robes that flow naturally down his body, the wrinkled flap of his skin that married his old face, and the intelligent yet curious eyes, looking like he dared anyone to challenge him.

Lily glanced confusingly between Sev and the statue, "The Architect? What about him?"

I looked confusedly for a whole different reason though, "Architect?" my tone evident how lost I was at its significance.

Sev sighed exasperatedly, "Really Percy, don't you know about The Architect? He was the one who designed the Hogwarts Castle alongside Rowena Ravenclaw. No one knows who he was, but he is marked as a genius among genius to design the most complicated building of the 10th century with secrets that stayed for centuries."

While Sev gushed at the statue like a fanboy and I couldn't help thinking of Annabeth and how she might share his sentiment, if not more so. Then the squint I had turned into a glare toward the statue, "So what you're saying is that he's the one responsible for the overly confusing moving stairs that kept tripping us?"

"That…" Sev was left with no words in response to that as he did not know what to say at that revelation. Lily followed my lead, and glared daggers to the unmoving figure. "You know, even knowing as just a statue, I respected him and all until you just made me held a grudge on him."

Sev slapped his palm to his forehead, looking on us two glaring at the statue as if that might send out our distaste for his design to the graves beyond after thinking that Moving Stairs would be a good idea for him to make.

"So, who is he?"

"As I said, he's The Architect."

"Yeah, but what's his name. Don't tell me his name is literally The Architect."

Sev scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, who in the right mind would even name someone in their profession. Imagine someone who named themselves Master or Doctor, how ridiculous would that be?"

Imagine indeed. Now that Sev mentioned it, it's not every day you get to watch a Classic Who on TV. Better put that in my bucket list.

"No, the only reason he's called that is because he's even more mysterious than the founders. No one even got to find out who his name even was. The only prove he was even real is this statue here and his handwriting below the statue that had his signature."

I looked down, and surely there was a carved written stone below the statue. I looked closer upon it, my nifty pair of round glasses helped covered my dyslexia to read it perfectly.

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Is build upon the effort of the Four Founders;_

_Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw_

_In the hopes for a better future for the wizarding world_

_Highlands, Scotland_ _July 30th 993_

_The Architect_

_A.S._

A.S.

Aaron Swagger

"Oh my God!" Lily exclaimed as she realized the weight of the name she had read.

"So, do you think Professor Heckler found out his name?"

"If we believe that the notes on his book to be true, then yes."

"Okay, so we know his name now. What's that supposed to mean then?"

"I've always wondered why we don't know The Architect's name. Since there has to be a reason for someone's name to be erased from history." Severus pulled out his wand and pointed it at the statue, "and the only thing I could currently think of is this; _Apertumin nomine Aaron Swagger!"_

The sound of gear turning followed by a clicking sound before the golden statue shifted and made a loud creaked as it loved, Lily quickly used a silencing charm so we wouldn't wake up the whole school until it revealed an entrance. Cold wind burst through from it that sent shivers, followed by a wailing sound from the hollow dark corridor with nothing to shed light on its depths.

The three of us exchanged looks, silently confirming each other's thoughts before proceeding through the entrance as if one of the mainstream points in horror movies before everything goes wrong, but I'm still being optimistic in all this. It turned out at the end of the hallways had led us to a spiral staircase, revealing it to be from what I could tell was a tower.

"A secret entrance to an unknown tower, can't get cliche than that anymore."

"It's a millennia-old castle Percy, it'd be weirder if things weren't cliche," Sev reasoned.

We finally found the first door on sight, and we didn't need prompting to check out the inside, and I have to be honest here. I was a bit disappointed with what I find.

My imaginations came up a lot of wild conjecture, but looking at what was obviously a bedroom made me slightly deflated. A queen-size bed at the corner, the walls had gray pictures from thick dust covering it, the same could be said to the window that shed the dim light of the moon, on the other side was a desk beside a tall shelf.

"So it's a bedroom, and I was half expecting this was where Gryffindor's hidden treasure laid. I guess that would be too easy," I commented, my eyes glazing over the dust that swept the air beneath the moonlight from every stride I took.

"That begs the question of why they would need to hide an entire tower that seemed to be a room quarter."

"That's a good point," Sev shared his sentiment. His eyes were boring through the room, his gaze analyzing any minute detail of it, and his brows frown in concentration. If I didn't know any better, I would say he was trying to use some kind of X-ray vision.

His pale hands slide the desk, marking the dust surface. Not at all perturbed getting his hands dirty. Then he switched his attention to the shelves next to it that kept potted plants that had long been wilted and dry, dirty colored white plates and cups decorated the hollow space that was now filled with cobwebs.

A shrieked made us jumped and whipped our heads to find Lily skirting away from a pair of giant rats that hurried past her legs and out the room. She almost fell on her back if my reflex didn't work fast enough to hold her up. "Careful," I warned her softly next to her ear.

Lily shivered, said her thanks before shifting and looking away.

There wasn't anything much here that was notable, and Lily was all too eager to get out the rat-infested den—holding close to either me or Sev from any other unpleasant surprise that might jump out at any moment. Sev lingered at the door for a few seconds longer before moving on further up the staircase together.

Every time we came upon a door, we couldn't help but peek inside (the bedrooms seemed to be the only rooms we come across so far), each was unique in their own way. The second bedroom we come across had charged map of England and the constellation, a telescope by the balcony window, and a shelved filled with books that hit the ceiling. The third had a moderate amount of books that concerned mostly about the Dark Arts, dusted jaw filled with rotted animals or potions, along with other creepy tools on sight that you would think a supernatural fanatic would have. The last bedroom we came across at the top floor was one where weapons were used as ornaments on the wall alongside the head of various animals like a boar, deer, and lion. Then there was the series of Beast heads like a giant spider's head.

"Great, so it's a bedroom tower," I drawled.

"Don't talk silly, Percy, we haven't even checked the rest of the Tower yet, right Sev?" she glanced at Sev and paused when she watched his expression, "Severus?"

I swear I saw the very moment dawning comprehension hit him. His jaw dropped, his droopy eyes full and round, and if I ghost wasn't such a daily occurrence in Hogwarts, I would say he had just seen one. I was about to call out his name and snapped him out from whatever his mind palace cooked up, but then he whipped his head with a smile. No, that was an understatement, Sev barely smiled, most of the time he smirked so seeing him with a wide toothy grin, looking like a proper child that just got his Christmas present put the two of us in a mixed sense of awed surprise and a bit of fear anticipation. Because as much as I hate to admit it when Sev smiled, it usually invites trouble or a solution. Hopefully, this is the latter.

"I know where we are," he almost exclaimed if not realizing midway that his voice would have echoed the empty room.

"Hadn't we established it's a bedroom tower? Though the size makes it more of a bed-chamber than a room."

"Not _a_ bedroom tower Percy. _The_ bedroom tower. Heck, that name doesn't even signify just how historically important this whole place is. Most people would pay galleons just to get a glimpse and a proper sweep of this place."

"Okay, you've got me hook, Sev. What exactly is this place?"

Sev kept his smile in place as he properly turned to look at us both, "The Founders Tower."

I choked at my own air and gestured toward the whole room, "Wait...so this is…" Sev nodded, "And we are…" he nodded again, "Wow, I did not expect that."

"I think it's safe to say none of us did," Lily shared her mind, "Then does this mean this room belongs to-"

"From the faded color scheme, the tools left, and the letter G carved on the door, I would say it's most likely was Godric's bed-chamber."

"But being the Founder's Tower, shouldn't there be more than just bedrooms?"

"Let's find out."

And we did, climbing further up until we came upon an opening to a darker and larger hallway that turned out to be a bit of a maze. Using our wand to brighten our way as we took random turns until we stopped to check upon rooms like the Duel Room, a small library (I had to pull Sev from that one), or where Sev immediately became invested when we chanced upon the Study Room. He was determined to find any clues here.

"How are you sure there are any here?"

"Because if you noticed the lack of dust here, then you'll know it is the most recent place someone had put a foot in, so there must be something worthwhile here."

"Ho ho, aren't you a smart brat, I'm surprised you're from the house of that Snake Bastard instead of Rowena's."

The sudden voice of a stranger made us jumped, simultaneously turned with our wands up. The heightened beat of my heart slowed when the voice came not from a man...well, not exactly.

We came face to face with a portrait of a familiar man. With wild brown beard and bushy brown hair, brown gloved hand holding on to a silver sword, he was big, either from fat or muscle. I couldn't really tell from beneath his red linen robe with proud stand, his face was fierce, but his eyes showed a humorous intelligence.

Even when I hadn't seen his face numerous times in textbooks I rarely opened, I knew from my gut that I was looking at Godric Gryffindor... well, he's portrait self at least.

Lily was the first one to gasp, her hand closing to her mouth, "You're-"

"Godric Gryffindor, at your service," he said with a booming voice, and his head tucked to a bow in greeting. "Now, what's a group of whippersnapper like you three doing in my tower?"

"Yours?" Sev skeptically pointed out.

"Mine-ours-same difference. Not like there's anyone alive to live in this place. Point is, people aren't supposed to find out about this place and that Ugly Mug was already bad enough."

We all exchanged glances, knowing who is most likely to be the " _Ugly Mug."_

"What are you three sneaking glances about? If you have anything to say, then spit it out!" he almost spatted.

"Uuuh," his demanding tone got us all tongue-tied, but I was more confused at what to ask then being intimidated. Inwardly I was impressed that 'Godric' managed to send out a powerful aura from his words that only leaders would make when I've only been looking at a painting. "We were just wandering in this fine tower and-"

"Do I look like I'm blind? This tower hasn't been fine for 800 years, so stop wasting time and spit it out. You're embarrassing yourself."

"Fine, what do you know about the lost treasure inside Hogwarts in your hidden chamber?"

That got his muscle to tense, his demeanor froze. For a second, I thought I managed to brake him and turn him into a regular portrait. But then he dropped his silver sword and picked up a guitar from the shelf behind, strummed it a few times as he tried to turn it right and... _what?_

We were rendered speechless from his strange act, but even more so when he started-and I kid you not-singing.

Was he any good?

' _O ye long hard-fought seekers_

_Come clean your waxy ears_

_For what you find will leave you bind_

_From the shed blood and fears_

_In four corners of Hogwarts_

_Hidden from your nosy nose_

_Keys that denies you the door_

_To have old secret expose'_

Yeah, not so much.

' _Gray-haired or youngish_

_No riches is ever out of reach_

_All you need are pair of eyes_

_To look up the place I stand_

_Heed my line, not lime_

_And ignore my rusty shibboleth_

_Let your wit guide you_

_Do your best or die horrible death.'_

I glanced at the others to see if they were just as disturbed as I am but found that my two friends were looking at him with apparent excitement in their eyes, "Percy, do you know what this means?" Sev voiced out.

"That Gryffindor is a terrible singer?" I winced as I shake out the memory of that out of tune note from my head. I wouldn't even be surprised he was the one responsible for the horrid Hogwarts Song.

Sev rolled his eyes, "True but not the point. It means that the Lost Treasure of Gryffindor is real. Hiding somewhere inside this castle at this very moment."

I shrugged, "Doesn't change anything, I mean... the only difference is we just confirm that it's real."

Lily nudged me with her elbow, playfully, "Oh, don't be a party pooper, Percy, that's Severus's job."

"That's righ- _Hey_!"

Lily just smiled innocently back at him, and I laughed, "She got you there, Sevvy."

Sev punched my arm for that, it barely tickles, and he knew how annoyed how unaffected I was by it, "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"As many as I've said it."

"So!" Lily raised her voice to get us back on track, "Where do we go from here? Gryffindor is essentially saying his key would be where he stood, and we want to search for the three other keys in three different places of Hogwarts."

"What does he mean by that? The first key is found where 'I stand.' What does he mean where he stands? Any idea, Sev?"

"How should I know? I don't always have the answer, Percy," Sev snapped at me. There was a bit more frustration in his tone, and I raised my hand in surrender to calm him.

"Calm down, Severus. I didn't mean to push you like that."

He exhaled a sigh, and I saw his shoulder sagged, "Sorry, it's just... it's nothing. I'm probably just tired. It's already way past midnight."

Lily stood beside him and squeezed his shoulder, "Then I think we should cut this excursion short." She looked back at the painting, "Mister Gryffindor, do you have anything else that might help us in our search for your lost treasure?"

Gryffindor that had been silent only shrugged in response, "Not much I could say, that's the only thing I was supposed to say concerning my-I mean, Godric's treasure. Everything else, you'll have to figure that yourself."

Lily nodded and smiled gratefully, "Thank you. Come on, guys. I think it's time we go back."

We walked toward the door, but my legs stopped short and let the others walked past me and leave me behind without them realizing. I looked back at the room. Dust was flying, dark and damp, the smell of old books, the hollow wind whistle that made the room colder and so, so alone. My silence somehow made Godric bristled and glared, "What have I told you? If you're a true Hogwart Student, then don't hold back your own mind!" He barked out.

With that prompt, I couldn't keep it to myself, "Do you want to get out?" I finally asked.

"What?" he asked, his confusion evident.

I bit my lip, thinking my idea was a bit weird since I was sympathizing with a painting. A life-like painting yeah, but I couldn't help but ask anyway, "The tower, you don't even seem to have other paintings to talk with and being alone in this dingy old room, don't you at least want to be with the other paintings just to keep you company?"

My words seemed to genuinely surprise him from the stunned look he gave me before blowing out a peal of hard, joyful laughter, "You're obviously not a Pureblood then. They don't say something that stupid."

"Hey, no need for the insult."

"Kid, I can't get lonely because I'm not human. I may look like it, but that's because I'm only acting of what the _real_ Godric's like. His imprint if you call it, but I don't feel anything, much less feeling lonely." 'Godric' seemed to mule over his words and chuckled, "Now that I think about it, I'm not that different to a ghost, but even they're more human than I am because they actually feel something."

"Wouldn't that mean the real Godric would have wanted to see what the future of his school is like rather than stuck alone here?"

Godric blinked for a few moments, looking stunned before bellowing another round of laughter, even louder than before. At least he didn't deny it, that's as good as a yes to me, "Cheeky little brat you are," he found himself saying.

I couldn't help but gave him a cheeky smile in return, "I try."

"Percy!" I heard Sev yelling from across the hall, "What are you waiting for?

I rushed out from the room, but not before I shot one last glanced back, "See ya around Gryffindor," I promised him.


	10. Never Steal a Book from a Bookworm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: We managed to discover the secret-but-not-secret-anymore-founder's tower. Confirming by Gryffindor's himself (Okay, his painting if you want to be technical) the existence and the clue for his key by his unnecessary horrid singing. Either somebody must never tell him how awful he was or he just doesn't care.

Once we were done with our Nightly Excursion, Lily and Sev went back to their respective dorm, while I had to dash back upstairs, pulled James out of the closet, and threw cold water at. Jolting him awake. He glared at me but I went on chastising him for sleeping in the job as if I wasn't in any way responsible for his sleepiness. But...well...let's keep that bit buried indefinitely.

The next day, I had DADA on my first period and had a hard time concentrating when the object of scrutiny was right in front of me. Teaching the class with his hissing talk. A few times, he called my name only for me to draw blanks from the lesson and had to flap out nonsense or had Doc mouthed a given help. Heckler looked non impressed by my lack of attention. Giving me a warning or two.

Still, other than the usual mishaps spells I made in the next few periods. I thought after the discovery we made last night and the end of my detention, I wouldn't need to encounter trouble so soon.

Clearly, I was wrong.

I barely got out of the classroom when Sev literally barreled down at me. Surprising me enough to topple me down.

"Sev, what the hell?"

"Sorry," he said as he got up from being tangled up with me.

That got me looking him up in concern. No offense to Sev, but he was never one to willingly apologize first without prompting except to Lily, and he was sweating while looking more distraught than usual and Sev is usually the epitome of calm and calculated. Something obviously was wrong here. I didn't even get to ask him before he began dragging me off, and I didn't fight him off.

"What happened?"

He only answered with one word, "Lily."

That was all it took for me fasten my pace, and out walk Severus though he still guided me where we were going so I had to slow down at some points. We were back at Heckler's office, the door was quite ajar (there were signs that the handle had been roughly mistreated) so we didn't need to stick our ears to the door to hear what's been said in there.

"DO NOT LIE AND ANSWER ME! WHERE IS THE BOOK?!" Heckler yelled out and had made me jumped by the loud coherent words I've ever heard him use.

Lily whimpered and I couldn't blame her doing so, being the target of his fury.

"Calm your voice down Heckler, she's a child for Pete's sake. Be mindful of your tone," McGonagall's stern but calming voice resounded.

"I understand your distressed that you just be feeling Professor Heckler," Professor Dumbledore added, sounding like someone who was chiding a child, "but I suggest it's best for you to reign in your anger and to approach this in a respectful way."

"I'll bloody talk "respectful" but not to a little thief!"

"Bu...but I told you. I didn't do it. I swear I didn't, please believe me."

"I'll believe you when you give me my book back!"

"I don't have it."

"Give me my book back!" Professor Heckler said while gritting his teeth. Had it not been for the presence of the other two Professors in the room, I think he would growl at her.

Sev and I exchanged look, his eyes were worried and lost. Confused at the sudden turn of event that we most definitely weren't expecting. From what I could tell from the conversation, basically Professor Heckler lost his precious book regarding the Lost Treasure and he suspected Lily of stealing it. Which is a ridiculous idea since not only doesn't have a Hermes' bone in her body, she would have told us if she had taken the book. Which also begs the question of why he would make her the first suspect.

"I have never gone a day without my book by my side and the last time I saw it was when we had our "conversation", ring any bellssssh?"

I didn't know what Lily had looked like, but I could guess that her face was as pale as we are when his words began to sink in on us.

"That wasn't me-I didn't-someone else came after me, it's-"

"Already trying to blame someone else are you Miss Evans? Honestly, you're making your case worse and you've already lost much credibility with you disappearing from my room at the same time as my book."

"ENOUGH!" McGonagall called him out and I could imagine her glaring disapprovingly at him, "Professor Heckler, control yourself!"

"I will not!" Wow, that's a shocker. This is a first time someone went against McGonagall upright, "Now see here Miss, you're going to tell me where you hide my precious book or I'll use my authority as Professor to give you detention. I hear the Forbidden Forest is short of watchmen tonight and that Mister Rubeus is short of friends."

My eyes widen at his implication, "Is he serious?" I hissed at Sev, "That's basically telling Lily to die in a ditch, we barely survived the last time we went there!"

Sev just shook his head solemnly, "Oh he's dead serious Percy. Remember that Hogwarts isn't a muggle school, we don't do things as normal and safe here. Shouldn't you know this by now?"

Oh, I do know this, but this school teaches to control magic not to fight. There's a difference. Dumbledore even confirmed it himself. So why the hell isn't the other two professors saying anything?! Or is this part of their contract that you could punish student however they want?

"What are we going to do? We can't stand around and do nothing!"

Agreeing with Sev's sentiment, I wasn't sure what we should or how to help her so I just did the first thing that came to mind without properly thinking. Or to put it in one word that's becoming a favorite of mine, improvise.

I burst in without care of disturbing their talk, ignoring their surprise at my sudden arrival, and blurting out a bombshell, "It was me. I stole the book." There was an audible slapped from behind me but I didn't need to turn to know what and who prompt it.

I looked over to see how the occupant of the room was reacting more or less how I imagined they would react; Lily was evidently gobsmacked at my daring proclamation, McGonagall had briefly looked up to the ceiling followed with soft exasperated words of "Of course it's you" that I could tell from my amateur lip-reading. Dumbledore's only clue of surprise was by his widening eyes and slightly parted lips but kept his calm mask in place, then there was Professor Heckler who was surprisingly had nothing to say after all that shouting and growling he made, and instead looked down at me pensively. I wasn't sure what he was thinking, but either he was trying to discern if I was telling the truth or if he could Jedi mind me into killing me.

Heckler opened his mouth, ready to respond to my impromptu claim.

"It was me!"

Until it was cut off short by another exclamation that got all of us to whipped our head. Even me. Especially me actually.

"You're right, it was me," my red-haired friend said, "I did it, I stole the book when I came to talk with the Professor."

There was another banging sound from behind me, but one that sounded like skin-to-wood contact I had to choose to ignore since I was busy gaping at Lily. Before I could so much as say a word, Professor Dumbledore has cut me off.

"Well, this is quite a dilemma we're in. It would seem while one book of Professor Heckler was stolen, two students are claiming to have stolen it." I know I might be talking crazy, but I could have sworn Dumbledore had sounded amused. I wouldn't be surprised if he was smirking underneath all that bushy white beard of his.

"And you suspected me of it, right? Then I confessed, you were right that I stole it yesterday."

"Don't listen to her! She's only saying that because she's trying to protect me."

"Oh that's rich coming from you," Lily said as she bared her teeth at me, "I'm not the one eavesdropping and burst in while pretending to even know what we had been talking about from the start."

"Seeing as you were swearing up and down that you didn't steal it. It's a bit late for you to claim that now, don't you think?"

We were stuck between a glaring match, both of us had a stubborn pleading glint to have the other stand down while the other took the blame. Lily opened her mouth, about to shot back another retort but was stopped short.

"ENOUGH!" Heckler bellowed that got the two of us to shut up. He sent the two of us one last glare before asking, "Now I don't care which one of you stole my books and I'm willing to forget all this ever happened if one of you decides to return that book."

Our faces simultaneously paled since the truth of the matter was that we don't have it and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"I dropped it in the lake," Lily said.

"I accidentally tossed it into the hearth," I said as well at the same time.

Heckler's eyebrow twitched before he closed his eyes and sunk his head down that the shadow hid half his face. The silent was discerning, way in contrast to his angry outburst before. Unnerving Lily to the point she was slightly backing away and even the two Professors by his side was eyeing him worriedly.

Until…

"β§# #!$$μ¥※-"

...uuh, whatever that is. I didn't know what he was saying, but I think I caught a few Latin words somewhere. He was speaking fast and his nasal voice was back making it more gibberish than hearing proper words but I was sure I had heard him saying "Head sucker", "Dementing dog nutsack" and "Merlin's weathered ass," though whether he meant the cursing or the donkey, I wasn't quite sure. Even the two Professors were too bewildered by his sudden exclamation to do anything.

"FINE!" Heckler practically roared out, "If you two are so eager to be the thief and aren't going to return my book anytime soon then so be it! Have fun spending the night at the Forbidden Forest because that's where your detention will be."

Jeez, not even Annabeth was this upset about her book. And I'd seen what she does to the poor sod who had rip only a page of her architecture book. Let's just say it wasn't pretty.

"Now get out of my office before I could think of a worse punishment!"

We didn't need any more prompting before we dashed out of the office. I heard the snippets of conversation between the three professors and I wasn't going to be around to hear the impending verbal fight that was coming so the three of us got the heck out of here.

Once we were at a safe distance where the lack of people provided us with calm reassurance. It was then that Sev switched flat looks between the two of us before sighing, "Lily, I'm sorry to say this, but both of you are idiots."

"Hey, we're not that bad!" I complained.

"You especially Percy," his flat look turned more into his signature glare while pointing at me, "How in the name of Merlin's Beard did you think that claiming to be the thief was a good idea?"

"What was I supposed to do? I couldn't sit still and watch Lily be accused as a thief when she's obviously not."

"Fat a lot of good it did," he grumbled, "The only reason it works is that because you tick him enough. I doubt he actually believes you."

"Well, he would have if one of us hadn't tried to play the hero." I leveled a glare to him.

That caused Lily to make indignant gawk, "Excuse me? You are the last person I want to hear that from Percy Jackson! Your help was the last thing I need when Heckler had threatened to sent me detention to The Forest!"

"How am I making it worse? That doesn't make sense."

Lily buried her face to her hand and groaned, "Per-cy-," she said my name in gritted teeth, "Have you forgotten what exactly rest in The God-Forbid-Forest?"

I furrowed my brows, "Of course I do. There's the Hodags, the Unicorns, the Cent-Ah." I couldn't help the last word escape from me.

I could tell Lily barely restrained a growl, "Yes, "Ah" indeed."

Sev, for once, was clueless while looking back and forth between us, "What do you mean "Ah"? What the hell is "Ah"?"

Lily volunteered to explain, her scathing glare still trained to me, "Ah," as in remember when we told you last year why Percy was banned from the Forest?"

"Oh, that "Ah"" Sev let out in realization. He then cocked his head to the side, clearly musing something in mind, "You know...to be fair...seeing as the forest is supposed to be forbidden in the first place, making it banned for Percy is kind of a moot point now that I think about it."

Lily had her brows twitched and made aggravated groaned while I grinned from his words, "Sev does have a point there Lily," I tried to lighten the air only to whimpered when two pair of eyes shot me a look that says to keep my mouth shut. "Shutting up now."

The anger and fight in Lily's eyes dwindled, and she tucked her head down in defeat, "Look, there's nothing we could do at this point. We just have to get through tonight and hope nothing bad happens. Even if things turned out we have to run for our lives, I'm sure Hagrid will be with us to keep us from getting mauled. After all, what's the worst that could happen?"

**. . .**

"Lily. Next time, kindly try not to goad The Fates and asked them to bite on our ass."

"I will remember that," Lily gulped as she scanned the area of an all-out massive brawl of every kind of monsters you could think off; Centaurs, Wolves, a mass army of spiders that would make Annabeth faint, a black edition of Wookiees, even Deers and Stags. And let me tell you now that by no means they are normal if one of the stags managed to flip a wolf-like a bag of sack in the way, nor the glittering crystal-like antlers they had, or the snarl that showed their canine teeth no herbivores should have. "In my defense, this is all James' fault," she said while pointing at the boy next to her.

Said person, who had been gaping at the scene whipped his head at her with a squawk, "How the bloody hell is this my-" he was cut off by the pair of glaring green eyes at him that made him scratched the back of his neck sheepishly as his face began to flushed, "Uuh, well...that is...oh give me a break, it was an accident!"

"ACCIDENT MY FOOT. YOU CAUSED A FREAKING TURF WAR!"

I'm sure all of you have some questions. So to recap what happened that resulted in this insane situation and why. Well, you'll have to find that out in the next chapter because it's going to be a long one.


	11. A Trip to the Not-So-Forbidden-Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: And so after failing to take the blame and only made it worse for myself and Lily, we got detention to accompany Hagrid in his nightly watch through the Forbidden Forest. Yes, the same forbidden forest Dumbledore had nicely warned us off at the start of the feast if we didn't want to die a horrible death. The same one where the centaurs had banished me from unless I'm asking for a round of arrows sticking out of my butt. I'm halfway giving up for any peaceful night tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A brief message from the author
> 
> I'm pretty sure I'm late for the game at this point, but being a Muslim and an overall decent human being, I am obligated to at least implore all my beloved and loyal readers to do this one thing. Just the one.
> 
> Boycott Mulan 2020!
> 
> Or at very least please don't spend 30 USD for that fancy B rated movie that's trying too hard to look like a Box Office quality.
> 
> Sorry not sorry, but some things needed to be said.
> 
> Setting aside everything wrong about this movie, you have more luck through finding out various youtube videos of various reviewer that would express what I feel from destroying a beautiful, classic, and yet the epic tale of Mulan from their glory days when it's not about being a cash-cow.
> 
> No, if it's only just about a bad movie, I wouldn't have wasted my time trying to write this shit.
> 
> But Mulan 2020 somehow manages to make itself to turn it from worse to worst, not from the lousy characters that pretend to be progressive, not lousy writing from four white playwrights that can't do what I'm pretty sure online writers can do better with less than 200 Mil USD budget, but from the end credit. Specifically thanking the CPC Xinjiang Uighur Autonomy Region Committee as part of the publicity committee as well as eight government bodies that allow roughly 1 million Uighur Muslims to be put in a concentration camp for cultural genocide and be put into forced labours.
> 
> Basically it's a detainment facility where they brainwash you to strip away a part of your identity and belief.
> 
> As an Indonesian Muslim who's religion is a part of my culture as much as my belief, I am horrified and disgusted by this fact.
> 
> Some of you might be wondering what boycotting Mulan 2020 could help in this situation. Since China is the problem why not boycott all China products or all Disney Products?
> 
> Okay, here's the thing. China is a whole different bucket of problem. I'm not saying they aren't a problem for the Uighur, but that's a different set of conversation that needs to talk about. What's problematic in this situation is the fact Disney used an international platform, to play a movie... that gave credit to groups IN NAME that are allowing Uighur minority to suffer.
> 
> That's basically implying that Disney, one of the biggest and influential global media cooperation, approves the existence of Uighur Concentration Camp, does the company even realize that?
> 
> Never in my life, have I watched a Disney movie so politically-deaf to the current situation, making the movie just all the embarrassingly stupid. But most of all, Disney was just careless. They don't care about the significance of the set they were shooting nor the people in it, they don't care about the original Mulan Ballad and only does the bare minimum of research nor the Chinese culture, they don't care about the classic animated movie.
> 
> You can see just how careless they are from how lifeless the movie is. It's just that bad.
> 
> And we cannot enable Disney, a powerful company, to allow giving power to China by the acceptance of that Camp without a public statement that at least protest their existence or say your fucking sorry! Come on Disney! You can't even do at least that?! Go eat your shitty shorts you fucking mouse and choke on it!
> 
> So that's my rant. Thank you for reading my Ted Talk. You can now enjoy the chapter after I somewhat ruined your day.

When night fell and the moon rose, Heckler, himself had escorted us to the forest with a bit of more eagerness than normal. Hagrid, who was notified of our coming, had been waiting by his hut and looked worriedly between us two. Instead of getting ready to put our foot into the forest, the two adults waited. For what? I wasn't sure until I asked.

"Oh, just another rabble-rouser that claimed to have stolen my book as well, and who am I to deny someone from getting their just reward if they so ask it?" Heckler answered with a stretched smile and a gleam amusement. I shouldn't have been too surprised but I hadn't expected for our DADA Teacher to have a bit of a sadistic streak in him.

Lily and me exchanged confused looks. We hadn't expected that, but we had ceased to wonder on it when a blip of light from a lantern caught our eyes and watched Mr. Pringle trekking down toward the hut, next to him was one of the last person I expect being here when I had spent the last week with him every night. I'd look back to Lily, and instead of the shocked face I was expecting, she was glaring daggers at him.

"What did he do now?"

"Most likely the one that got us into this mess in the first place."

That made me gave him an identical glare, making James tense slightly and almost stumbled his steps.

Heckler hummed our attention, "Children, it would sssheem you two aren't the one admitting of stealing my precioussh book. I would think it'ssh only prudent for you to get what you yoursshelf practically ask. And I think teaching why stealing other people's thing is wrong, as you three had claimed, is to learn why thissh place is called the Forbidden Foressht."

Oh, Heckler tried to spook us as he called the forest's name with a low whisper, but that only got us to avoid eye contact with him. He must have misread our action, thinking he managed to spook us if the tale-tell smug look he had was any evidence.

Then Heckler bid us adieu with that sickly grin of his (scratch that, any kind of smile of his look are either sickly or demented). Leaving us at the hands of Hagrid. He told us to always be either by his side or Fang's if either of us got separated. With a side note that he was a bit of a coward, so we shouldn't rely on the dog too much.

"So, what do we basically do in here?" James raised a reasonable question to my hairy friend.

"Well, it might be just meh imagination but I think there are trouble brewin' within the forest. It's been quiet for a few days, much too quiet for meh liking and usually, that would mean the calm before the volcanic eruption."

"Uhh...don't you mean 'before the storm'?"

"Really? Well, not much different."

Lily was halfway toward objecting him but I grabbed her shoulder and shook my head.

The three of us followed behind Hagrid with Fang alongside him and only a lantern that barely lit up the path we walked in the forest. I had thought the patrol along the forest would be a but mix of creepiness and boring without going deep in the forest but that assumption was soon debunked when we unknowingly came straight to the heart of the problem of Hagrid's had suspicion.

I flinched when I saw a group of centaurs standing on a slightly steep hill and hid behind a tree, hoping it would obscure my identity enough. Looking up at the armed half-man, barring their canine teeth, and making shuddering growl reverberating the air. The tension was palpable and the two showed clear signs of wanting blood. Even Hagrid became pale at the sight, and James had to hold back a squeak of terror. I felt Lily's hand gripping my own and we watched in silent at what was unfolding.

"You have crossed the line for the last time!" I almost jumped at Bane's familiar voice, "Do you think we won't know you've been sneaking one of your own around our turf?!"

The wolves barked and growled, loud enough that even I wouldn't be surprised if it was heard all the way to Hogwarts. One of the bigger wolves on the front, with silver fur that seemed to shine under the moonlight and his large jaw, looking it could chew my head off in a single bite, and I'm not exaggerating. But one step from what I guess was the Alpha, the two centaurs beside Bane raised their bows.

"Don't talk like you don't know," Bane boomed out but not even his commanding tone could make them flinched, "We have sights of your kind running amok and will not let that stand!"

The wolves snarled as one, and due to Bane's face changing slowly to red, I assume they called him some profanities. Not that I disapprove or anything.

Lily tugged the sleeve of our Half-giant friend, getting his attention, "Uuh...Hagrid, do you think you could tell us what is going on? Why are they fighting?"

Hagrid scratched his bearded chin, his gaze never lingered longer than a second and gulped, "Yeh, well...it appears we got ourselves a turf dispute. It's not uncommon thin' here in the fores', but I haven't seen the centaurs havin' a dispute since I started workin' here."

I raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

He tilted his head in thought, "'Kay, maybe they're prone to dispute but not concernin' their turf. Everyone in the fores' knows how territorial they are. Second to the Wolves, actually, so this is... troublin'."

"You think we're blind about your filthy half-breed, mongrel," Bane retort and obviously asking for a fight with them. A slap to his bicep made him turned to one of the centaurs beside him who was giving him a warning look.

Another loud growl in response as the pack inched forward, ignoring the menacing arrows being aimed at them.

"I think that's an understatement," James muttered as the tension was getting thicker by the second as an explosion was on the edge. One wrong move or one wrong word, and everything will go pear-shaped.

The sound of hooves clopping near made us tensed until the sight of one of the young centaurs came out from the forest's shadows and under the dim moonlight, and I relaxed when it was one I recognized, "Firenze!"

He paused his step and looked shocked at seeing me, "You should not have come here, young Half-Blood."

I had to quell the urge to bark out dry laughter, "Oh, believe me, I wouldn't be here if I had any other choice."

Firenze looked like he wanted to say more but then turned to Hagrid since it looked like there were more important things to say, "Hagrid, I don't know if I should be happy or worried more with you here. The situation has been...delicate as of yet."

"Why? They should know better than ter cross overs one another's turf, especially these two."

Firenze nodded in solemn, "Exactly, but I heard from the elder centaurs how there's been sighting of werewolves not just surrounding our territory, but even on the border of the Forbidden Forest."

"Wha'? You're jokin'? They know better than to risk Dumbledore's promise like that!"

"Wait, sorry to interrupt," James cut in between the two. "But did you just say those wolves are actually werewolves?!" he asked the same line of question that crossed my own mind.

"In one sense, they are," Hagrid answered but his tone was unsure.

"In what sense?" Lily voiced out, her curiosity piqued.

"Those pack of wolves are actually teh offsprings between werewolves who gave birth durin' teh full moon, some said they were conceived unde' a full moon. Some say both, we never really know. There's a rumour that says only one of teh parents needs to be a werewolf. Ridiculous right?"

"So, you're saying there might be people who gave birth to wolves in their wolf form?" Well, that would certainly make an exciting baby shower. I could even picture the banner saying: "IT'S A WOLF!"

Lily gazed at the pack, squinting quizzically. "They don't look that different from normal wolves."

"Oh, they are far more intelligent than what you would assume, child," Firenze commented, "The wolves here are no more dangerous than normal wolves, yet bearing none of the savageness and taste for human flesh that werewolves have."

Hagrid nodded strongly at this, his burly arm crossed. "Despite this, it's often bein' spread that they are as savage as werewolves. Only Dumbledore sees enough reason teh give them a shelte' here in the fores' like the Centaurs. Great guy, Dumbledore."

"But, there were rumours of werewolves living here. Isn't that them?"

This time Hagrid sighed, his face forlorn. "That's teh sad part. Of course, livin' in teh fores' would spread rumour amongst teh studen'. Yet mos' of teh staff let it spread in hopes of keepin' teh students out of teh fores'. While keepin' teh studen' safe is importan', I can't say givin' these wolves a bad name is teh way ter go."

"And sadly that misconception is carried among my kinsmen as well," Firenze added, his face was regretful by his admission. "They looked down on them as they do to others, and they do not like even the sight of wizards within sight, much less the other colonies. And there was no proof of them actually coming across our turf. Bane and his friends are displeased by that and wanted to make sure they understand their place."

"So... if I understand correctly," I drawled with a less impressed tone, "Bane is being a xenophobic idiot and trying to cause a pissing match with his neighbor, is that right?"

If I had wondered if Firenze could sigh any heavier, then I have gotten my answer. "I am ashamed to admit that yes, that's exactly what's happening."

"Well we can't have things escalatin' any further, do yeh think yeh could translate the wolves fer us Firenze?"

Firenze turned his attention to the bickering two species. His head tilted in concentration, "The wolves are defending themselves, they've only been tracking down someone and never gone past the line they agreed on."

"Trackin' who?"

"They've been tracking...a cub? I'm not exactly sure of their term, but a cub of one their kind has been crying for the last year and they were having a hard time finding him in their own turf, so they had to spread out."

"Is that all?"

"Well, Lynn just barked out a colourful insult or two but that's not important... though I will say I agree Bane is a sodding bald douche-"

"Firenze," Hagrid warned.

If possible, the young centaur blushed and made a dry cough. "Yes, uhh...they're also saying-"

"Don't spout nonsense!" Bane's cry cut him off, "Your lies are unbecoming more than you already are. There are no other werewolves around this part, otherwise, we would have made sure to eliminate it!"

The sound of a gasp made me turn, followed by a hitching breath from beside me and I glance to find James looking more than scared, but horror-stricken. His face paler than it already was beneath the moonlight, and he looked like he had choked on food. I didn't get to question him further though before Hagrid took my attention back quickly. Walking over to him with a placating hand raised.

"Now, now, what's all this about? I've been keepin' an ear of things but looks like yeh two got off in the wron' foot from a misunderstandin'"

The growl and the death stare directed by the two colonies were now sent toward Hagrid and I couldn't help but shifted just a bit closer behind him but still within the shadows. Keeping a wary eye and making sure nothing happens to my friend. Hagrid didn't look a bit worried, though if he had been groundskeeper since they've settled here as he said, then I should have expected for him to know what he's doing.

I was more reassured when I saw the tensed muscle between the two relaxed slightly at the sight of them. They have clear respect for the Half-Giant which made me beamed a smile. Good respect is so hard to come by after all. Especially coming from stubborn asses.

Bane sniffed in disdain as he spoke, "I think you had heard enough to know what these mongrels had been spouting lies."

A loud bark that didn't need a translation that it was a retort from the wolves.

Hagrid nodded, his features calm like his voice. "From what I could tell, you have problems with a turf breach."

Bane's eyes seemed to light up, a cruel satisfied grin curved up, "So you understand, Hagrid, the severity of their act-"

"But did they?" Hagrid cut in, his tone was had a clear innocent despite the clear intention behind his question.

The Centaur looked like he almost bit his tongue from being cut off, his cold stare return in vengeance as he spoke with gritted teeth, "What?"

Hagrid wasn't deterred by his tone, his own voice didn't so much as waver toward the armed borderline hostile creature perched on the steep hill. "You said that they were seen near your border but not past it. Then surely there's no need for confrontation. It's not like they breached their agreement."

Bane began to snarl and frown, making his face that much uglier. "So they haven't gone and went past our turf, do you think we're going to let them toeing the line?"

"The agreed line exists for a reason Bane," Hagrid chided softly and patiently. "As long as they don't cross it then there's no need for you to-"

"Yet. They haven't crossed the line yet, and I'm not going to wait until they think they could get away from entering our turf. They need to know their place!"

"Is that teh Centaurs way then? To taunt an' besmirch othe's when they did somethin' you don't like instead of doin' wrong? And I thought yeh all are big on honours."

That seemed to hit a spot when the other centaurs began shifting uncertainty, glancing one another as they shoot eyes of doubt toward Bane. Himself looked annoyed at being lost for words. It was a good thing I was hidden or the shit-eating grin I had would have pissed Bane more than he already was. Knowing a kink in the armor of his argument when he saw one, Hagrid kept his patient tone on him-

"Look, clearly they've been stayin' in their own turf fer almost three decades and it shou'd be clear they like having disputes as much as ye doh. So they mus' have a reason for sniffing around yer side of teh colony. Let them explain themselves and if it's somethin' I could help settle than all teh more reason teh put this case to rest. How does that sound?"

The silence accompanied after was one with thought, and I couldn't help the glee I had seeing Hagrid settling this diplomatically. Firm, gentle, with a hint of stubbornness that would not let the issue leaf unsolved. A side I had never seen him when he was with people which surprised me a bit.

Maybe because of that I didn't pay enough attention to Lily when she moved. Inching a bit closer to the scene and reached out her hands to what she assumed was a tree but went rigid when she found herself touching a soft hairy surface instead of the expected rough prickly bark. Slowly she looked up and was faced with a hairy humanoid creature with large canine teeth, red murderous eyes, his mouth had saliva dripping, and looking hungry wasn't so farfetched.

Lily screamed which made the creature roared back at her. All of us was surprised by the action but James made the monumental stupid idea to act like a hero by drawing his wand and aimed at the creature.

Only to missed and hit one of the centaurs instead, which led to one of them so startled that he let an arrow escaped his grip and hit one of the wolves.

After that? Well… it felt like all of Hades's worst creature from the underworld got loose.

Things became that bad as a fight between two species broke out but it was only the beginning of a horrific chain reaction.

One centaur threw a wolf into a tree, which turned out was a Niffler nest. Prompting them to spread out and dig themselves out from ground zero or either skitter away, only to disturb a group of rabid carnivorous horned rabbit - what were they called again? Wolperting or something? - zooming out from the ground and bit or stab anything in their way. I never thought any kind of hybrid rabbit would terrify me but they do.

Then the same creature that had scared Lily began appearing one by one, almost unnoticed by their dark color but their eyes showed enough to where they are when they popped up behind the tree then disappearing. No one noticed there was one less being in the fray every time it was gone.

Try as he might, Hagrid had tried yelling out for them to stop but some member of the brawl somehow managed to throw a rock at his head, rendering him to slump down to the ground, eliciting a worrying cry of his name from us. Lily would have run to check up on him by his side if I hadn't reign her in. Why? Because not long after he fell, there was a gradual increase of spiders crawling about. To the point that calling a wave of spiders wouldn't be exaggerating to say, seeing a chunk of the forest was covered with creepy crawlies and surrounding Hagrid like a barrier.

At some point, other creatures of the forest awaken from the brawl and somehow for some reason joined in. Becoming one supernatural slugfest with the three of us standing ways away from.

And that kids, is how Stupid James started the first-ever turf war in the Forbidden Forest.

"I said it was an accident! How many times do I have to say for you to believe it!"

"Say as much as you want James, but it's not going to change the fact- DUCK!"

The three of us did that and narrowly getting hit by a flying centaur as he flew over us. We glanced at the now unconscious half-man and half-horse lying on the ground before looking back at the fight that's seemed to escalating more with trepidation.

I gulped, "All in favor of running?"

I didn't hear their reply since they had done just that before I had to catch up from behind.

"What were you even thinking?" Lily hissed as her running slowed into a wide hasten steps beside him, "You had to pull out your wand and make things worse, didn't you?"

"I didn't mean to...I just…I thought you..."

Lily scoffed at the fumbling words James couldn't form, "Save your excuses when you grow up and learn not to bring more trouble than you're worth."

James gawked at her before his mouth was flailing and blurted, "I wanted to protect you!"

That got Lily to pause, standing for a second or two before slowly looking back at him. Her arms crossed and the angry face she had wasn't wiped, but I knew her enough to see the question in her eyes, "What?"

"You screamed and I...I panicked, okay? I thought you were hurt or something hurting you and I couldn't let anything happen to you," James admitted.

There was a long silence stretched between the two that I was stuck in what to say when my own eyes boggled out like Lily from his words that from what I could tell were sincere. That, and I was feeling strangely like a third wheel between the two as they stare at one another without so much as blinking.

Lily bit her lip, her eyes soften and it was only because I knew better that she was trying to keep her angry face intact. Feeling like the silence had been going on for too long, I was about to break the ice when the bushes next to us began to rustle. James moved in instinct, horrible instinct if you ask me, and tackled Lily down with a shout of "Watch out!"

He wasn't quite aware where he was tackling her and got the two of them rolling down the steep ground. I wasn't quick enough to save them so I was left watching them being tangled with themselves at the bottom. I looked back to the rustling and found it had only been a single fox and I couldn't stop the slight curved at the tip of my lips.

"You know, James, if you were so scared of a small and harmless fox, you could have said so!" I shouted out. There was some faint grumbling I couldn't hear but I have a guess what either of them might say. I had no problem sliding down to their side, in time for Lily to pushed him off and stood beside me.

"Some offense, James, but next time you tried to 'save' me? Just...don't."

If I wasn't so crossed with James, I might have a shred of sympathy from the look if his face. He eventually picked himself up but tensed midway when we heard the audible sound of… something. I couldn't describe it much other than it sounded like whistling with a deep tone and had an echoing feel, making it sound more like a growl.

Our caution spiked when we whipped off our head toward the source, but the darkness made it that much harder to see what's beyond the shadows.

James swallowed his saliva, "Any chance this could be another fox?"

"If it's a two feet tall fox then maybe," I promptly answered.

But nothing came after nor was there any sign of life, just the continuing blow of the deep reverberate whistle until it stopped. Curiosity got the best of me and made few steps closer, pushing away the huddled leaves from the tree to give a clear view of what was behind it. Lily didn't need prompting before following behind me. I spotted at the corner of my eyes how James grabbed her hand and shook his head, but Lily only needed to pull her hand away before James reluctantly followed alongside her.

To our relieved, it wasn't any sort of beast or monster. It wasn't even a living being. It was only-"A cave?" Lily said what the three of us had in mind at the undramatic reveal. It was a big cave to be sure. The biggest that I've ever seen, which gave off the sound of the blowing wind much more ominous than it should. Our strained muscle relaxed after realizing what the sound truly was.

Lily breathed out in relief, "I thought for a second we were going to face another one of the beasts here."

In hindsight, there were probably monsters lurking inside the cave but I thought it was best not to say it. I was about to suggest we turned away but froze when I glanced back, "Where's James?" Lily's eyes widen when she found her fellow Gryffindor missing from her side. We both exchanged bewildered looks before spotting him making his way into the cave.

"What is that idiot doing now?" I dragged my hand over my face, muffling my groan that followed before going after him.

James was quicker than expected and was already deep within the cave that we almost lost sight of him. The darkness didn't really help but it was a good thing the cave wasn't much of a maze so it was easy to follow him. Lily was first to notice of the dim light began appearing on the rocky walls and ceilings. Like a glowing blue moss that I had to admit was mesmerizing even for me. It is a time like this to realize I wasn't much of a poet when mere words couldn't quite capture the beauty as we got deeper to the cave. The glowing moss began to spread further wide in the cave but mostly concentrates in the stalactite ceiling, making it look like a night light chandelier. It wasn't an elaborate scene but it was one that spoke of tranquillity and peace. A scene where you could lose yourself in it forever.

The dark cave brightened a bit, not from the blue moss this time but the moonlight, shining down a set of staircase like a spotlight stage and James climbing up with hastening pace that we had no trouble catching up now that we have a good eye on him. He stopped short when he reached the other side of the cave where the moonlight broke through and I had to hold back from growling at his ear, "You know when we find a mysterious large cave, that's not really a sign telling you: 'Hey, let's go inside and check it out!' Heck, more often than not, it's the exact opposite of what you should do."

I almost didn't catch Lily's snort. "You're one to talk," she spoke under her breath.

James didn't answer though, just a short "Uh-oh" that caused me to frown before I turned. I had to admit that, while the Dark Luminous Cave was great, _this_ was something else.

We were perched upon a cliff, the sound of the waterfall under us turned into background noise as we took in the scenery. A tree stood in the middle of the clearest lake I've ever seen. Seriously, I could see the bottom of it in great detail. The various shape and sizes of the rocks and corrals, the green plants that emitted small bubbles, even a wreck boat stuck between the roots of the tree. There was also more glowing moss illuminating below. But instead of blue, it was a mix of yellow and purple glow. Although the air was humid and cool, the smell of ancient wet stone made me sneeze. The most magical thing about it would be the fact that despite the amount of water falling into the lake, it remained undisturbed nor did it swell into a river. A constant body of water that kept its serene state.

"What is this place?" Lily breathed out her question in awe. The corner of her mouth curved up while she took in the scene.

I was about to answer "I don't know" in response but was cut off surprisingly by someone who I never expect to know the answer.

"It's the Endless Fall where the first tree ever to have ever grown in the forest and has been here far longer before Hogwarts was even made. There are rumours surrounding the tree for centuries; like how people seek its wisdom when confronted with a difficult task or where one mourns their loves one and filled the place with their tears and made the lake" Lily and me turned to him in shocked at the series of facts he didn't sound to be making up. James seemed to caught on what he had said and looked just as shock and a bit horrified from it, "I mean...hehe...I think that's what it is if I heard right from Professor Binns," James tried to gloss over.

I snorted, "Yeah, and I'm a sea slug. Try a better bit."

"Harsh, but fair. I wouldn't believe me either." James took the silent a cue for him to begin sliding down the steep rocky terrain and I didn't even have the energy to shout for him again.

"We're going to have to follow him, aren't we?" I asked my redheaded friend only to find I was alone. I whipped my head around to find she was following James heel. Spouting out something about not wandering off.

With a defeated sigh, I caught up with them no problem by the small lake that encompassed the moss-covered Stonehenge. The closer I get, the more I felt the shrouding thick of old magic in the air. Very old magic.

"For god's sake, could you stop for one second and listen!" Lily screeched next to his ear, and while James winced, he didn't seem to be fazed much by her.

"You could have just stayed up and go back you know? No need to follow me around," he faced back to Lily, wiggling his eyebrows, "Can't say I blamed you, I am irresistible." The blanched of her face and the upside slap of his head was well warranted if you ask me. A retort seemed to be at the tip of her tongue when James began pulling out his robe, shirt, trouser until he was left with only his pants. Lily flushed beet red before turning away.

A question was halfway formed from my mouth on what he was doing, but it was clear why before he even made attempt to dive into the lake.

"10 knuts says he'll turn up in less than a minute."

Lily turned to me with a raised eyebrow, "and why is that?"

"Because looking at first glance might make me seemed shallow, he'll realize how deep it was in any-" On cue, James pop up with a frantic swim aa he tried to reach the shore of the lake. His erratic swimming didn't help reach it faster. "There he is," I said with a barely contained chuckle.

His hand touched dirt and inhaled a mouthful of air, "That ain't a freaking lake! There's a whole ocean back there!"

Lily's surprise was only evident from her wide eyes and turned to me with a question, "How did you know?"

I grinned and followed with a knowing wink, "Trade secret." I then walked toward and offered him a hand after laughing at him. But he gave me only a stink eye before swatting my hand away. I'm not even surprised. "So, so you want to tell us why you suddenly got a death wish?"

He scoffed with that condescending tone I have familiarly associated it with the gods. I would think it was cute hearing that tone from someone mentally younger than me if I wasn't so bloody annoyed by him.

"Seeing as it's none of your business, you should quit prying while you're ahead," he said while he put on his robe back.

Lily took this moment standing between us and looking inquisitively at him with her large doe emerald eyes, "Is there really no way of you telling then? Pretty please?

James looked away and ruffled his already messy hair and I swear I could see a hint of blush on his face, "Well... since you asked so nicely."

Wow, this guy is a huge sucker.

And so he looked left and right then urged us closer so he could whisper to our ears despite no one was there to hear us, his excited tone was not unheard, "This place could possibly be, just possibly, where the Lost Treasure is hidden."

"No! You're joking. Really?" Lily couldn't stifle her gasp.

The smug grin wasn't lost by his face, "Oh, I'm dead serious."

"And how did you know about this?" I asked, not quite buying his story. He's not exactly the brightest bulb around.

"Trade secret," he retorted.

Touchè.

"Okay, I'll change my question. How were you planning to get to this treasure then?" James opened his mouth to answer but found he didn't have the answer now that he knows his swimming plan was a bust.

"I-haven't got to that, but I'll think of something. My plans are brilliant just so you know!" His words were only met with scrutiny. "Oi! You would have a different opinion if you know all the pranks I'd done. Besides, I'm the one who has any clue of this place so you better listen to me and I wouldn't mind sharing the treasure afterward."

"Now that's not a nice way of treating your friends, you should be grateful they're open to helping you."

The unfamiliar voice coming out of nowhere made us tense and jolted us to move so we were back to back with one another. Eyes roaming for the source, my fingers twitching around my pen and wand, and feeling the heat of their backs to me was the only reassurance of their presence.

"Oh, my apologies. I didn't mean to startle you kids," I glanced back to note the same confusion we all had even when searching around for the woman's presence. That is until I felt James tensed next to me and watched his jaw dropped, his eyes round as saucer, and his finger shakily pointing toward the tree. We glanced at his direction only to have our expression matched with his when we noted that the tree had something peculiar at its bark.

Specifically, a wooden face of a middle-aged lady softly looking at us, "Now hasn't anyone told you it's rude to look and gape at other people?" The Wood Lady scolded us in a gentle tone which doesn't undermine the creepiness in all this.

One thing was clear though.

Things got a whole lot weirder. 

Things just got a whole lot weirder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh James.. .one step forward two steps back. Someday people are going to like you but today is not that day.
> 
> Guess who it is like the Tree Lady. Not that hard to guess but guess anyway!


	12. A Talk with Grandmother Willow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: So...after we escape from a very frenzied turf war - no thanks to James - we managed to get ourselves lost within the Forbidden Forest, where who-knows-what might pop out and threaten our lives. Nothing more than the usual. But, James' strange behaviour led us to a cave where a familiar face greeted us. Or at least...who I thought was familiar.

"Uum, I'm sorry. Is it me or am I the only one seeing the talking tree?" James pointed out. His finger shaking as he did so.

"No, it's not just you seeing the talking tree," Lily confirmed. Her eyes locked at said tree, not daring to glance off at the off chance she might be hallucinating. I should know. I was doing the same thing after all.

"Better yet, I think it's more accurate to say a talking tree had just talked to us," I mused out my own thought.

"Oh, stop it, you're making me blush," The Tree Lady gushed. If her complexion wasn't so... woody, I figured she'd be blushing. Her eyes widened and gasped before berating herself. The Tree Lady then cleared her throat, and schooling her features into one with that meant business, "Greetings Wizards and Witches, I see you've come far in finding the hidden lake of the Endless Fall." We weren't expecting the drastic 180-degree change from her gentle, sweet demeanor to a strict business tone, which slightly threw us off. I couldn't help but find the thin line of her lips and cold eyes didn't suit her at all until epiphany hit me like a hammer.

"Wait, that face... I know you," I pointed at her, "You're Helga, Helga Hufflepuff."

""What?!"" Both James and Lily cried. Their heads whipped between me and the Wood Lady's face with newfound insight. I know I'm not the sharpest knife out there but even I would recognize her after seeing her face every time I got back to the common room.

Immediately the shone in her eyes was back, and the familiar smile I would see every time I came back for a goodnight sleep emerged. "Oh, marvelous! You recognized me, and from my very own house," she giggled before she caught herself in the act, then schooling her expression once more. "Pardon me, but continuing from what I had said. Congratulation on finding me but know the key you seek is still out of reach until you've passed my ordeal."

The three of us exchanged confused glances before I spoke up, "You don't have to speak formally to us. It's not like we're anyone important or anything."

"Oh, but aren't you looking for the Lost Treasure? It's only prudent for brave searchers to be treated with respect. Age does not matter after all. Why us, founders, were barely out of our teen when we decided to build our very own school together."

I scratched the back of my neck and pursed my lips, "Yeah, I don't think we're comfortable to be treated like stuck up... other than James here."

"That's ri-hey!" James nodded halfway before shooting me a glare I happily ignore.

Helga brightened at that, "Really? Oh, thank heaven, I wasn't sure how to keep myself formal all the time." She breathed out a sigh and smiled warmly, "I'm used to it, you know, being the founder of Hogwarts sort of required you to, but that doesn't make it any less comfortable. All those traditions, etiquettes, and politics involved in my life when all I wanted was to give a place for the young wizards." A great big sigh followed from her slip outburst. Catching us off guard, "Oh, look how small and cute you three are, it just makes me want to bake you cookies and gobble you up later."

If I hadn't known any better, that sentence would have sounded ominous.

"That won't be necessary seeing as you're…" James gestured his hands at her overall, which I couldn't help but agree.

That earned him a slap from Lily and shooting him a look I was all too familiar with whenever I was being rude or sarcastic. She then switched her attention to Helga, "That would be nice of you, Miss Hufflepuff... or should we call you Professor Hufflepuff?"

"Professor! Oh, that's so sweet of you, dearie. No one has called me that for ages. I do love being a teacher after all. Since I'm nothing more than a guardian now, I suppose you could just call me Helga. Thank you for asking though."

Lily nodded, "Alright then Helga, could you tell us this key you said to be guarding?"

"Hmm... Oh! Yes...well...sorry, my mind got sidetracked a bit there...heads in the cloud me, but are you sure you want to do this? It's not an easy task to do, much less someone so young."

"I thought you said you didn't care if we're young to seek it?"

"Doesn't make it less worrisome," she gently informed them, "Yes...well...here's how it goes," she started, "Anyone who seeks the Lost Treasure would be given the chance to obtain the Lost Vault Key. Luckily, it isn't that hard, so I would think you have of trouble getting it."

That small bit of news lightened the heavy lodge that had been stuck on our chest. It was more so for me, having to deal more deathly ordeal more than I could count, I could deal with a little less trouble for once.

"Great, what are we supposed to do?"

"Oh, you only need to fly up, find, and take it. Simple, don't you think?"

That got us to froze, slowly we looked up at the night starry sky, searching for whatever key-looking object that she assumed was on above but couldn't find any.

"Uhh... sorry, Helga, but could you elaborate what you meant by flying up and take it? There's nothing up there." Lily hesitantly voiced what we all had in mind.

"Of course there is; it's right there in front of you," Helga persistently assured us with a patient smile.

"What is?"

"The star of course."

I swear at that moment we went deaf to the world, trying to process the inexplicable sentence she threw out like it was the most normal thing for her.

Lily was the first to snap out of the confused stupor, "Again, I'm sorry, but...you're not seriously saying the key is... a literal star, right?"

The Tree Founder Lady gaped, she must have realized what she had said, "Oh, apologies, that wasn't a very good message, was it?"

My red-haired friend relaxed, knowing we weren't actually going up and take a literal star from the sky. I've had my fair share of ridiculous and impossible experience. Still, even I admit that's a feat no one is capable of other than for a god.

"The star you're looking for is part of the little bear. It never moves, so you should be able to find it easy."

But apparently, she believes it's possible to take a star out of the sky. That might as well makes as much sense as telling me it's on the second star to the right and straight on till morning. I quelled the urge to run a hand through my hair at the impending headache, "Typical, a riddle talking willow tree? If I didn't know any better, that would be a straight-out copyright violation of Pocahontas."

Lily blinked before he squinted confusingly, "Poca-who?"

"Nevermind, it's an American thing."

"Rather than being all riddle, I say she's a whole 'nother basket kind of loony!" James was on the verge of exclaiming, "She's telling us one of the stars is a hidden key for the lost treasure? Even I find that hard to believe. Not surprising coming from Hufflepuff."

"Hey, lay off the house jab!" I growled. Honestly, this guy couldn't put away his house superiority. Not that I can say as much with Sev showing the same attitude most of the time, but he has a friend benefit from me.

What a blatant racism...or should in this case be called _house-ism?_

Lily finally tore her gaze from the sky to Helga, "So let me confirm again, so there's a way for us to somehow take...I can't believe I'm saying this...a star from the sky which is a key to the Lost Treasure?" she asked, feeling dubious, and I had to share her sentiment.

"Oh, you three would be fine. After all, you did find this place, so I'm sure you'll manage it somehow!"

I could appreciate some optimism as the next person, but even I have to admit hers was a bit much. I looked back up at the various constellations in the sky, some I recognized, and some I couldn't put a finger on. Yet I have no idea which star in which constellation she was talking about, though it does ring a bell. At times like this Annabeth would know. She'll most likely answer in prompt before calling me a Seaweed Brain with that exasperate yet fond smile of hers for not knowing what she would call "Basic knowledge."

"Okay," I clapped my hand, loud enough to make the pair of wizard and witch jumped and rubbed my hands vigorously, "So putting aside how impossible that notion is, any ideas?"

The three of us exchanged unsure glances, without the slightest clue how to even fly further than the already giant tree in front of us.

Lily huffed as she struggled for an answer while looking up at the sky, scrunching in concentration as if she would find an answer if she looked long and hard enough, before glancing back at Helga, "Any chance you might tell us how we could do that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sweetie. I would love to, but that would be destroying the whole point of all this," her eyes rolled to gesture the place in general.

"Isn't there anything else you can tell us?" James pressed insistently, "Like a signal, a clue, or a piece of advice you can give?"

Helga curled her lips in thought, "I suppose this place does remind me of a book I know." We leaned in expectantly for the answer. But even that hope began to feel far fetched as we look upon the struggled Helga Tree as she tried to remember, "I remember it was a bit of a long title, it's at the tip of my tongue, well figuratively speaking since I don't technically have a tongue, but...OH, Lewis Carroll, I remember that was his... the writer's name."

The name was over my head, noting triggering the familiar tingle in my head, and James looked just as clueless as I was. Lily was the only one who knew what she was talking about if the raise hairline of her eyebrows that almost shot out of sight.

"Lewis Carroll... I know of him. He wrote Alice in Wonderland!" she exuberantly told us at finally getting a small clue. I wasn't sure what it all meant other than today was taking on a very fairytale theme. She then took pity on James, being the pureblood that he is, he has no idea of a muggle story when he heard one, much less the writer.

"He's a famous writer known by muggles for his fairytale book, Alice's Adventure in Wonderland. It's actually one of my favorite books, reminds me of Hogwarts a little." She proceeded to explain the summary of the book to him.

I thought back a moment to refresh my memories. Doors in unlikely places that could take you anywhere or none at all. Food and drinks that did fantastical effects. Talking and mischievous creatures. An endless amount of tea and food in a banquet

Holy! That's more or less Hogwarts in a nutshell. I wonder if he was a student here once.

"Wait, that doesn't make sense," I suddenly realized, "I know it's an old book since it's a classic, but unless Hogwarts isn't as old as we thought or that book was published close to a thousand years ago."

Helga laughed in a wholeheartedly way, "Of course not, silly. I do get bored easily having stuck here with no one around, I had to find my entertainment _somewhere_. Look at all my collection!" she moved curtain of leaves. Revealing a sizable gap in the tree bark that holds a large collection of books that brings out more questions than answer.

"And how on earth did you manage to snag all those books for yourself?" Lily queried with arms crossed and shooting a suspicious gaze.

"Now I can't tell you all my secrets, can't I?" she winked and giggled, actually giggled.

"Putting that aside, how's a book suppose to help us in this case?" I wondered aloud. A harmonic hummed between the three of us as we contemplated our next action.

Surprisingly, James seemed to have a good lead on where the clue was pointing, "Hey Evans, so that famous muggle story, in the end, everything that happened to her was nothing more than a dream?"

Lily was surprised by the question but confirmed his question, eliciting a wide grin and bright knowing glint in his eyes. "I think I know how to take a star from the sky."

Before we could question him, James put his thumb and index finger in his mouth and whistle loud and high pitch enough to make me wince. "Good gods James, what was that for? Do you want the whole bloody forest to know we're here?"

He ignored me in favor of looking back at the cave's entrance. A whooshing sound echoed from it, appearing in a brown blur, shooting past us in blinding speed, instinctively making us duck. James' wicked smile grew wider, his hand outstretched, snatching his broom in the air with practice ease.

"It's a Call-Me Charm. It's an original spell my dad made. He put it on my broom so I could call on it anytime and anywhere I want."

He puffed his chest and tilt his chin up, acting like he had done something impressive enough to be proud of, yet to me, it just made him look haughty.

But Lily's attention was on another point, "Calling your broom...don't tell me...you must be jesting!"

James winked at her. Mounted his broom. Then lift off the ground and through the air, toward the starry night sky.

I gaped at his retreating sight, like a fish out of water, "He's not seriously thinking he could grab a star by flying straight to it, right? Even James must know that's an outrageous idea."

"Oh no, not outrageous at all," Helga preened as she gazed the same way as us, "In fact, I'd say he gets full mark!"

""Huh?""

It wasn't her claim that made us utter the single word expressing our incomprehension, but it was the sight of James' silhouette reaching out for the stars and he... managed... to grab... it?

_**WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!** _

I had to blink a few times. Rubbing and squinting my eyes. Going so far as to tilt my head. Making sure I wasn't mistaken and was seeing things. In hindsight, this wasn't the strangest thing I've experienced. But for the love of Aphrodite, there should be a limit to these things, and snatching up a star, with or without magic, should be one of them. Especially coming from James of all people!

"Oh," Lily puffed out, "So that's how it is," her words broke my bewildered trance.

"You know how he's doing it?" I asked her, my tone almost demanding.

She nodded, her eyes never leaving the now shadow of a flying wizard closing in on us, "The story of Alice in Wonderland... she never went to wonderland because it was all a dream."

My face scrunches in confusion. Opening my mouth to question her, but close when realization hit me as hard as the Titanic would have hit the iceberg. Looking over the non-ripple lake that has more depth than it looks, a waterfall coming from a torrent river somewhere, a tree so tall it should have stolen anyone's attention from miles away.

"It's not real," I breathed out.

"That's right." James touched down to the ground beside us. His fist shining while he held the glowing key within, "I thought since whoever made this cave enchanted the lake to make it deeper than it looks, I thought it wasn't far-fetched to say the sky - or the ceiling - here was enchanted, hiding the key, so it'd look further than it actually is." His grin stretched out from ear to ear. His expression proud, and I admit that he deserved it. I was both impressed and chagrined that he managed to saw through this cave for what it is before any of us.

"How did you know which star to choose from?" I couldn't help my curiosity get the better of me.

"Really, Percy?" Lily surprisingly voiced out, "It wasn't that hard of a riddle. Little Bear obviously meant the Ursa Minor constellation, and the star that never moves meant the North Star Polaris. It's not that hard to work out. I thought Astronomy was one of the few subjects you were good at?"

"When it comes to constellation names and background, I'm good, yes. Not the detailed name each of the stars has."

"Well, I've got what I came for. Let's go and get out of here now that we finished our business here."

"Actually…" Helga halted us. Her voice reserved, the leaves looked drearier as if reflecting her mood, "...I must apologize for not warning you, but the hard part comes _after_ you get the key."

A throbbing headache cut through my _cranium_. I don't even have the mental and emotional energy to dignify her with an appropriate response because _of course_ there's more to this dream cave than some fancy-schmancy enchantment. I wanted to smack myself for thinking briefly it would be this easy.

Lily, being the brave soul she is, dared to ask, "When you say the "hard part," what did you mean by that?"

Helga didn't answer. She didn't need to. Not when the cave decided to answer her by a loud blast coming from the waterfall. The shallow-looking lake was overfilling, the water spreading throughout the mossy cave at frightening speed. Reaching our knees before we could break out from our reverie and react. I was the first to snap out of it, "James, your broom!" I barked out.

"There's no way out!" He panicked, "The entrance is sealed, and the sky here is basically a ceiling."

"We're trapped!" Lily concluded. I would have bitten out a sarcastic remark if I wasn't so concerned in them slowly drowning. My powers would help, sure, but that would ignite too many questions, and I would leave it to last resort since I could play off my strange power as some kind of magic that runs in the family. Gods know how many times I could trick wizards more easily than mortals with just the word magic. On the plus side, I'm confident this isn't a trap to kill, but the kind that needs to be solved. Meaning that there's a way out.

"The tree!" I yelled out in order, "We have to climb up otherwise, you'll get swept away or drowned at this rate!"

The water had reached our hips before they nodded. Swimming frantically toward the giant willow tree as we each grabbed onto the nearest branch. Yet, I missed my mark by a few inches and had me slip down under the water. Lily's shout of my name was dampened over the cold water.

I opened my eyes that threatened to jump out of my socket. James wasn't kidding. The place was like an ocean. I could feel the water was deeper than it appears to be, but it wasn't just deep, it was bigger too.

It would have a dark and dreary place if it weren't for the moon, giving the place a shroud of light. Accompanied by a smaller yet colored lights of the moss resided on the crevice of rocks around. There were corals of every color you can name and every shape you can think we're there, and having seen my fair share of corals, I can say I've never seen more than half of them. While the scenery was big enough that I could only see the horizon around us, the middle of the lake dug deeper around the tree so I couldn't see its roots. It went further down toward a dark abyss that reminded too much of the hole where I fell to Tartarus.

Overall it was beautiful as it is creepy.

My mouth opens involuntarily. Gasping from the sight, but stopped short when water began lodging in my throat. My heart hammered out when realization sunk at the same time a hand shot out, grabbing the back of my robe and pulling me out of the running water. My own hand shot out to grabbed the nearest handle before finding myself hugging James like an overbearing koala.

He quickly pushed me aside with a sneer of disgust, and I switched my hold to its bark.

"Bloody hell Percy! For once in your life, could you stop giving me a heart attack?!" Lily cried over the deafening rush of the waterfall.

If I had been paying attention, I would have amusingly noted the rare cursing Lily made or even gave her a witty comeback. I didn't, not when I was still in a state of shock. Looking wide-eyed at the lake before glancing down at myself. My still _wet_ self.

My mind began to retraced back to the moment of me nearly drowning, and it was only the firm grip of Lily's hand entwined with mine and her worried emerald eyes that kept me from a full-blown panic attack. Forcing myself to gulp down a heap of air so I could calm myself down.

"This lake... it's enchanted," I managed to rasp out.

James rolled his eyes and scoffed, "What gave you that idea? Was it the ocean-deep lake or the ever-flowing waterfall that's about to DROWN US?!"

I was still too shaken after feeling the loss of my ability that the sarcasm flew over my head. The only time I almost drown was during The Second Giant War, and it was one of the top three experiences I do not want a repeat. There's something about not having your natural element, the one constant friend that helps me through the hardest of trials, going against you that left you feeling beyond helpless.

"Percy?" Lily shook me gently, her voice laced with worried that finally snapped me from my mind. Even going so far as to brush away my wet bangs shadowing my eyes.

"Sorry. I'm okay. A bit shook, but fine."

From the way she was biting her lip, she didn't believe me, "Are you sure?"

I finally gained my bearing and tried to ignore how discomfort I am from still being wet. Now isn't that ironic? A Son of Poseidon disliking being wet, "Totally. Now how about we figure out how to escape from here, any ideas?"

We were lost in our thoughts and emotions. We hadn't realized we were quickly brought eye to eye with Helga. Looking between the three of us in concern, "Oh dear, are you three all right? At this rate, you might die, you know?"

"Yeah, thanks for the cheery reminder."

"Helga, is there any way you could help us?" Lily asked hopefully.

"Well, I would, but you'll have to say the magic word first, and you'll have to do it quickly before I get overwhelmed by the water myself."

"Do we look like we have time to guess your bloody magic word?!" James would have pulled his hair if he wasn't holding on for dear life, "There's literally a million magic word out there. How are we supposed to figure out one?"

"Well, if you weren't so rude, you might have figured it out by now. After all, even a muggle child would know."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

In normal standard, it was if it wasn't for Lily and me being here. We both exchange look that showed our understanding before we quickly yelled out that one magic word any children learn to use, "PLEASE!"

Simple? I know, even I was a bit underwhelmed, but this is Hufflepuff we're talking about.

In response to it, Helga's expression turned into something of a serene smile before molding her face into a smooth bark any normal tree would have. The branches rustled was becoming more restless. Moving back and forth before it became clear it was entwining toward the waterfall. Stretching. Rustling. Weaving. Creaking. Until it reached the deafening thousand pounds of falling water before parting it into two, revealing another cave that led to our exit.

There were no words exchanged before we began to swim ourselves toward it—the wooden bridge guiding us.

"We're almost there. Keep moving!"

"No need to remind us!"

It wasn't easy, but it wasn't unreachable for us. The exit was half-filled with water, which just rang a bad feeling inside my head. The exit was at the tip of my hand before a panic scream gave cold dread in my chest. James confirmed further by his followed up a shout of _her_ name.

I turned left and right and spotted a convenient vine. Tying it around my shoulder before I plunged down in pursuit of her.

Bubbles blew out from my muffled curse. Lily was struggling to swim up. A whirlpool that wasn't there before, growing bigger by the second, pulling everything in without discrimination. The gripping trauma I had over the enchanted water was nothing compared to seeing the horrified face as she fought for her life against the strong current against her.

Her hand stretched out for me, and mine for her. Inches by inches, we came closer to one another. Ignoring the freezing sting on our skin, the pull of our muscle, and the near suffocating lack of breath we had. We kept our eyes at one another, with the end goal of our mind.

The tip of our fingers touched.

She released a bubble of breath.

Her legs lost strength.

Lily's eyes widened, both in horror and resignation.

And she got swept away.

I let go of the vine and grabbed her at the last second, but even I can't fight against a current this strong. I tucked her to my chest, praying to the gods even when it was left unheard.

It still felt like my prayer was answered when something grabbed on my collar and gave a strong tug, enough strength to pull two kids away from the Growing Whirlpool of Doom and back up to the surface. Right at the entrance of the cave.

While Lily hacked out any remaining water lodge at her throat, I looked back astonished at James, who had saved our collective butts. Himself struggling for a lungful of air. My gaze went toward his wet broom, and couldn't hold back how impressive he was, "You just used your broom to "fly" through the water and saved us. I gotta say, James, I don't like you, but that was pure genius. I could kiss you right now!"

Lily giggled the last remaining drop of water while James sounded nonplussed, he couldn't hide the smug smile on his face, "Don't expect a repeat Jackson, if anyone's giving any reward, I rather it comes from Evans."

"In your dreams," she scoffed, but it was good-naturedly rather than the usual hostile tone she had. "Putting that aside, shouldn't we be moving? The water is still trying to drown us."

That got us running real fast, but it was evident from how fast the water reached our torso that this cave was not done messing around with us.

"A DEAD END! ARE YOU FLIPPING KIDDING ME?!" James' rage was reaching its boiling point, "WE CAME ALL THIS WAY JUST TO HIT A DEAD END?"

I shook my head, not ready to let my fatigue or emotion get the better of me. Feeling the pile of rocks that was blocking our path. It was our last remain hurdle. The clock's ticking whether we make it or break it. "There must be something else we can do, maybe there's a switch, a clue, or maybe it needs another magic wor-"

"Oh, move over!" Lily ordered, her tone was callous and tempered, uncharacteristic of her, but given the situation. I'd say it was reasonable. " _Reducto_!" She shouted with a strong wave of her wand and the wall collapsed, being hit with her magic.

The sudden opening let the cascade of water pushed us out, and we were mercy to the law of Archimedes before hitting a pile of mud with a loud _Splat._

Not my best exit.

Still, I had a wide grin on my face and looked back at my best friend, "Lily, you are a total badass!"

She grinned back with her mud-covered her face that was dripping down, and I must have the same fate because there was mirth glinted in her bright green eyes, her teeth showed in her grin, and we found ourselves laughing with our backs on the mud. Our laughter ringing unashamedly through the forest.


	13. How Zeus Still Manage to Screw Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: So long story short. We found a cave. A talking tree led us to the key of the Lost Treasure. Almost got drown but lived to tell the tale instead, but hey...what else is new. Though now that I think about it, who was the last one holding the key again?

"You both look awful," was the first thing Sev said upon the look on my and Lily's faces in the morning, and I couldn't blame him for his judgment. My hair was messier than usual, Lily had curls sticking out of hers, and we both had dark bags under our tired eyes. Not to mention we haven't washed out all the smell from the mud.

"We had a rough night," Lily muttered groggily. Taking the first sip of her drink to soothe the rough patch of her throat.

He snorted, "No doubt about it, what happened?"

We proceed to tell him the events that happened last night. The turf fight, the cave, Helga's Tree, finding one of the Hidden Key, almost getting drown. The usual stuff.

When it came to the part that James had saved us, he started out with an annoyed scowl and ended what looks like contempt hate in his eyes.

"You okay Sev?" I prodded him.

" _Fine_ ," he almost seethed out. Obviously, he was anything but fine if the peas he was vigorously squashing has anything to say about.

"What's wrong with you? I would think you would have been glad to find Lily healthy and safe after that kind of ordeal."

Sev blinked a few times, pausing before he snapped himself out of his bad mood. He finally sent Lily a gaze that showed his concern and apology.

She smiled back, accepting wordlessly.

"Okay, but what happened with the key? Who has it now?" he pressed.

I opened my mouth to answer, but stopped halfway, thinking back of who the last person that held it. Me and Lily both exchanged sheepish face, knowing who it was, and Sev groaned to his mouth at that.

He couldn't hold back his indignant tone, "You had Potter, of all people, took it?!"

"To be fair, we were pretty tired and out of it," Lily reasoned him, "It never even crossed my mind until you brought it up."

My Slytherin Friend had to hold back throwing his hands up, before heaving a sigh like a tired old man, "So, how are we planning to steal it from him then?"

Both of us sitting on the other side gaped at him before frowning. Unsure of what to say to him.

"We... never thought of that?" her tone hesitant. Like she wasn't sure if she was in the wrong or not.

"He... did almost do all the finding and all," I supplied my own thought.

"So we just let him walk away? Just like that because he "deserves" it? The very idiot who thinks making our lives hard is a good way to pass the time as a deranged hobby, that guy?"

I scoffed, "You're one to talk about the deranged hobby, have you seen your face when you got into your research with potions?" I said good-naturedly.

Instead of the sarcastic retort, I had expected, he scowled angrily comparable to when he was reminded of his dad, which caused me to stiffen.

"Oh, so you're taking his side now?" The glare and tone were too menacing to be playful that even gave me raise my guard up.

"Severus…" Lily started but he cut her off, and Severus never cuts her off.

"No, obviously you prefer Mr. I'm-too-awesome-and-perfect-hair. If you like him so much, maybe you're better off with him."

"Severus!" Lily cried indignantly. Before she could protest in anger, Severus stood up abruptly with a hard smack on the table and left without a word.

The two of us could only look back from behind as he stalked out of the Great Hall, "What is wrong with him?" Lily asked, more worry than confused.

"I don't know...you don't mind if I…" I pointed at his retreating form.

"Go, I have a feeling you have a better chance than me."

I nodded and quickly went off to catch up with him. Sev must have noticed my need for talking with him if his hastened pace said anything but then was reminded of his weaker constitution without the aid of adrenaline and I managed to catch up with him.

"Not now Percy."

"Obviously we need to talk."

"No, we don't," he insisted.

"Yes, we do," I stubbornly retort back.

He stopped mid-step, and turned to me with a humoring smile he didn't mean, "Fine, what do you want?"

"Say what you're thinking. Because you've been acting out of the ordinary Severus, only this time you finally snap."

"I'm fine, nothing's wrong with me!"

"Yeah, pull the other one Sevvy."

"Don't. Call. Me. That!" He bared his teeth at every punctuated word. His tone more angry than annoyed, which added to the Sev-not-alright List.

"Look, here's how it's going to be. You either face me, stubbornly asking what's on your mind the whole day, or you can simply tell me now and save me the effort," at this, Sev rolled his eyes, but I wasn't finished, "Or deal with your Ginger friend yelling at you for being a jerk before she cries for making her upset, and you'll be left fumbling on how to deal with it."

Ah, there's the pale-looking face I'm looking for.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell," he finally gave in. I crossed my arms and waited with tapping foot. Sev turned to both sides, confirming no one was in sight before pulling me to the darkest corner he could find. He bit the corner of his lips, probably struggling with what he was going to say. Sev never was a conversationalist after all.

"Why are you friends with me?"

I was expecting a lot of things, but that certainly never occurred to me, and I was thrown back by the question. Almost not believing he would question it.

"You heard me right Percy, why are you still friends with me? The same goes for Lily for that matter," he asked again. Tone genuinely confused and frustrated that threw me off the loop.

"Sev, I'm not sure I understa-"

"What's stopping you from hanging out with a freak like me once you realize you rather hang out with others?" My eyes widened as realization set in, it seems James' words hit more of a sore spot than I previously thought, "Honestly, I'm starting to question why you and Lily even want to be friends with me in the first place. And if what you say about last night is true, I'd say you have no problem getting along with Perfect-James alright—"

Alright, the bullshit train stops here.

"Let me stop you right there Severus," I cut him with a stern glare I usually reserved for the campers when I demand attention. One finger up, "First of all, let's set aside whether you're a freak or not, the fact of the matter is you're different, but I'm friends with you _because_ of that, not in spite of it," a second finger shot up, "Second, just because I can set my differences aside to work with James, doesn't mean I excused him for being a jerk or a bully. Third…"

Sev waited with bated breath, my words were left hanging, "Actually, I don't have a third, I thought it sounds better with threes." Like the Big Three, Three Fates, Three Dumps. Scratch that last one.

Severus rolled his eyes, but I could see the hostility in it dimmed.

"Besides, I should be the one asking you that." I added, "After all, you don't have to deal with monsters and death threats with other wizards."

"If I did, you'd be useless or worse, dead by now."

" _Oooh_ , Sassy Sevvy is back."

"Shut up, I told you not to call me that," he made a playful slap to my arm and I just grinned back at him.

"As if you complain when Lily does it. Oh, which reminds me that you owe her an apology so you better make it a good one." Then I shot him a glare, my playful tone gone in place for a serious one, "Lily is also my best friend so just so you know, if she cries in any way, know I'm not going to make sure anyone would pay for it, including you."

I didn't miss the slight shiver beneath his robes and he nodded with solemn seriousness as well. Showing he had no complaints.

**. . .**

Weeks passed and the incident had long been forgotten for the three of us. We studied our way through the year without any big incidents with little complication, except when it concerns Professor Heckler. Since then, he had his eyes on either me and Lily, every time we were in sight, with a gaze that could burn a hole. Even others were starting to pick up his more-than-unusual quirky behaviour toward us.

James was even stranger since we almost drown together. I would think he would be showing his face often to rub our faces on his greatness. Yet, he never did. He looked more skittish around us and avoid eye contact as possible, though I notice he would gaze at either of us whenever we were in sight.

Lily claimed he was hiding something, most likely about the key he attained. It was only a mere guess, an educated guess, but it was more than we have on now and James' behaviour wasn't even a priority of concern for me so it was pushed to the back of my mind.

It wasn't until by the end of the annual Quidditch match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor that I was reminded once more. Just as James claimed, he was with the rows of fliers behind Captain Goldstein, who was shaking our own Captain's hand. The kid had his chest puffed in determination. He stood with confident bearing and didn't hide the obvious glare he made at me. Not the hostile murder kind I'm so used to, but the burning bullheaded challenge kind of gaze where you won't back down no matter what.

McKinnon had pulled the team aside beforehand, giving us the ceremonial leader pump-up speech, "Alright, this is my first speech as your captain, and I was never one for words as Ted was so let me make this nice and simple for you all." She made us hunch low enough for her arms to almost wrap around everyone, and made a low but serious promise, "We trained long and hard for this and I _know_ we can kick their collective arses, so if we don't win this match, I'll have each and every one of you help Hagrid with his beloved beasts."

The Hufflepuff team has never been more motivated than they were then. Which I had to give kudos to her. Hagrid's type of "harmless" beast might be different to the rest of us so we might as well be risking our lives, but it's nothing compared to helping with one of his disgusting ones. I learned my lesson when the first time I offered my help, I suffered having to clean up their waste. And you don't want to know the kind of waste they had coming from magical creatures.

Just...don't…

The Captain had set me aside and grabbed my shoulder not too gently and whispered lowly to my ear. "I know I said that the others shouldn't rely on you too much, but be sure to give your all and give them hell." Her fingers dig to my skin, despite the layer of clothes I had, "Or you'll suffer a special punishment I reserved for you, understand?" She tried to sound menacing, but instead, there was a hint of amused purr that got me to repressed a shudder.

I gulped and couldn't help ask, "I don't remember you being this hardcore."

She smiled sweetly, in contrast to her grave serious tone she punctuated in every word, "Before I'm not the captain, so I did my best while following my captain, who I adored by the way, but now that I'm captain. I'm not pulling any punches."

I nodded, "Duly noted."

Sadist! She's a sick winning-obsessive sadist! What was Ted thinking, making her our captain? I'm gonna have words the next time I see him.

"On your mark," Madam Hooch called out between the two teams, " _One... two... THREE!_ "

The whistle was blown.

The quaffle was thrown.

And the match began.

Tootles was quick to broadcast the moment the game kick enough. It was a wonder, anyone could keep up with his mouth as much as the game.

[Aaaaaand...the game kicks off with Hufflepuff's newes' Captain quick act and caught the quaffle... buh what's this? She's bin flanked by two chasers and she's havin' trouble shakin' them off.]

Indeed it was as he said. They weren't just keeping up with her, they were making sure they were the same pace as her. Rendering it harder for her to pass the quaffle to others to the goal.

That was quickly remedied when our trusty beater, Chris, made an accurate aim at one of the chasers, forcing them apart and even give her the opening to score a goal. The air vibrates from the roaring cheer from the Hufflepuffs.

[Score! Hufflepuff made teh firs' score! Today must be a lovely day. But don't discoun' teh Gryffindors yet, fer they er rearin' some payback in hand from teh looks of their faces.]

Contrary to the Captain's word, my teammates _are_ good. Combine with her motivated and stubborn spirit, we're making a much better team than last year. What I didn't count, was the other team's strategy.

When the quaffle was thrown again, I made a fast dash but stopped midway from the surprise block James gave me. Standing between me and the ball.

I glared at him and he smirked cockily, which made my glare intensified in return. I planned to fly to the side and be rid of him, but he followed. I flew to the right and he mimicked me like a mirror. I tried to get away a couple of times but he was insistently marking me. Ticking me off in the process, and I hate to admit it was working.

There was a loud cheer reverberating the air, but from the sound of its pitch, and the wrong side where it came, it wasn't for my team.

"Jackson," I heard Captain yelled out, "Stop playing around!"

Gritting my teeth, I nodded without a word while shooting a dirty gaze at the Twerp.

The rest of the game flew by with me barely handling the quaffle at all. James was proving not only was he annoying but was annoyingly good too. He wasn't as fast as me, but his keen eyes that were focused on me managed to read my every move. With me out of the way, Hufflepuffs were neck to neck with Gryffindors. Racing points after points with either one leading.

McKinnon barred her teeth, and I was sure I could hear her growling had I been near her. I didn't even need to turn around to know she glaring daggers at my back to take this seriously.

"What's a matter Prissy? Can't keep up with my awesomeness?" James yelled out over the roaring wind beside me.

"Do you even have time to chit-chat James? Don't think I don't know it takes all your focus to keep up with me."

Oddly enough he was pensive as if he was considering my words, something that never happened so I found myself curious to his response before shaking his head in dismissal.

"That's what you want to think, but clearly I'm better than you so get ready to get your broom kicked off your arse."

I held back a scoff, his action was reminding me like a buzzing giant fly that persistently wouldn't go away, but I begrudgingly admit in my mind that I need to step up my game if I want to throw James off my tail. Though it'd be a lot easier if our team catches the Snitch, that doesn't seem to be the case any time soon.

[Looks like Hufflepuffs are running out of stamina because Gryffindors are gettin' mor and mor poin' and they-Jumpin' Jacks, is that a- Holy shi-]

[Toots! Language!]

[Oops, Sorry Professor, but it seemed the Seekers finally spotted the Snitch!]

...Well, it's not the first time I'm wrong.

I looked down to the field and saw the New Kid racing around the field with Gryffindor's Seeker, trying to catch the snitch that was right in front of their eyes. Skittering the air like the difficult little bugger it is.

"Hn, the game is clearly ours. Your seeker is obviously new, and couldn't hope to compete with our Captain."

And he was right. The New Kid might be good, but he's still out of league with an experienced Seeker. Maybe if he had found it first, he might have a chance, but they're currently competing head-to-head.

I locked eyes with McKinnon, and she gave me a permitted nod.

I guess it's time to put up Plan Merry-Go-Catch.

But first, let's help out our Seeker.

I dragged James on a long round track around the field, giving no sign of giving up his chase. From the occasional twitch of his lips and eyebrows, I'd say he's as fed up at constantly being my shadow. Yet this arrangement made it all the better to hinder his own team once I was by the Seeker's side.

I could tell from the poor kid's face he was struggling to keep up with Gryffindor's captain that was having a lead in catching it.

However, once I was on his side. The Captain had difficulty maneuvering his broom. It didn't help that when I gain ahead of him, James would be behind me, looking unsure and confused whether to follow me when it could lead to getting in the way of his own teammate. Even though I had to sabotage my own seeker in catching it, I didn't felt too bad knowing the opponent would be in the same boat.

Once we lost the Snitch. I swerved away, ready to enact the plan to gain more points. I slowed my speed. James took that chance to fly ahead and block my path. He was so focused on me. It was understandable that he didn't anticipate a Catcher flying below me. Throwing up the quaffle from my hand before I dashed below. I heard James squawked and would have followed me if Malone hadn't blocked him in turn.

With a swift maneuver through the players, a dodge from a bludger, and a petty stick of the tongue toward the keeper, I managed to score the goal.

Hufflepuff was tied with Gryffindor. It was time to pick up the pace.

After breaking out of James' sight. My teammates made sure I was shielded at all times. They couldn't keep pace at my fastest speed, but they could tail behind and block James if they need. Problem was, they would have to split focus between me and the quaffle so I had to pick up the slack from there and had to focus better when I'm practically going against almost two chasers on my own this way. However, it got the result we needed. We were soon thirty points ahead of them.

Though let it not be said James doesn't have a skill of his own. Many times, he almost caught on my wind tail, and he was getting smarter in how to outmaneuver my teammates. And he would have if I hadn't noticed a strange peculiar detail.

James was getting slower.

It was one thing if he was tired, but judging from the brief shock look from the sudden fell in speed mid-chase, the irregular distance he made between us, and the frustrated growl as he tried pulling his broom up with the sheer force of will as if his magic wasn't enough to pull its weight.

McKinnon was in glee, thinking James was being an overconfident brat - which I'm not saying he wasn't - but I had a hunch there was more to it than that.

The snitch appeared once more and our seeker was getting a lead to it, and there's no choice but to leave it up to him while the others try to hold back the opponent's seeker.

I had expected James to get in my way again, but my heart almost jumped when he plummeted only to fly up halfway through the fall. I might have thought he was messing around if it wasn't for the stricken look flashed on his face. If I had been any other player, I wouldn't have minded the details much, but sadly I am me and James is practically my quest. So whenever he's in trouble, it's my job to make sure he's safe.

It was a bit of surprise for him when I didn't speed up to help my team and in favor of hovering around him. He didn't appreciate me going easy on him in any way. Without knowing my reasons, he probably thinks I'm mocking him and his team.

"Dude, you okay down there?"

"What's it to you Prissy?"

"Chill out, I noticed your flight hadn't been easy for you, anything wrong?"

James had a stubborn glint in his eyes and I was sure he was ready to deny, but then he yelped like a girl when his broom failed on him. He managed to pull himself back up at the last second, but there was a worried sweat sheen his forehead before admitting, "I...I'm starting to think diving underwater with a broom without giving it an after-maintenance was a good idea." As if to further prove his point, the broom finally gave out completely and if I wasn't a second faster, he would have plummeted down alongside his broom. I thank the god-side of the family for giving me supergene so I could lift James by the scruff of his robe with one hand. Making this the second Gryffindor I save their butt from falling down.

Hey, but I didn't fall down this time, so that's progress right?

"Percy, get out of the way!"

My head swerved to the side. James followed my lead. We were struck by the sight of zooming Seekers trying to catch a Snitch, with a couple of Catchers between them, who had a quaffle on hand, hence there were followed by another catcher slightly behind them. All of them were flying fast toward us, and I'm not ashamed to say we both screamed.

I tried pulling away from the mad track of the competitive group of players but forgotten I was holding on to James and almost lost grip on him. The slight unbalance flight, made him panic and he held on to my leg and waist, which served to make it harder for me to steer the thing before we went on a crazy ballet twirl so I could slow down the inevitable descent.

I swear if James got me to break the only broom I actually like. Quest or not, I'll murder him myself.

He's lucky I didn't swear it on the River Styx.

...what does it say about me that I'm not the slightest bit surprised this happens again?

I guess Zeus' blessing didn't cover my pension for falling few feet up in the sky.

Midway plunging toward the ever closing patch of grass below, James' finger slip and he had fallen down. I didn't get to check his condition before the broom jerked upright and thrown me off it. It was a surprising move on its part and made a bad landing, giving weight to my wrist and felt a crack on it.

Oh, that was going to sting.

I heard the whistle blown, and the match came to an end.


	14. One Step Forward, a Fall, a Hex, and a Hard Kick in the Gut Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: Again? I fell off my broom again?! Clearly, Zeus Blessing isn't as sincere as he had made out to be or this wouldn't have happened for the third bloody time!

The shrill sound of the whistle was heard throughout the field, signaling the end of the match. Instinctively, my head shot up at the scoreboard, but judging from where the cheer of crowds was coming from, I wasn't too shocked to find the Gryffindor Team had 120 points ahead of us.

I blew out a sigh, feeling disappointed at the result. But hey, you win some, you lose some, right? So I switched my concern toward the annoying twerp but winced at the shooting- _Yep_! That was my long-time-friend; pain. You never do leave me behind. Considering the pain-level was 5 out of 10, it seemed I cracked a bone in my hand.

I had to give credit where credits due, James wasn't crying like the little kid that he is, seeing as he had a worse fall than me. Instead, he was whimpering with a silent tear rolling down his cheeks.

Madam Hooch soon came over as with the rest of the players. Some landed around us, while others hovered near. All watching in concern at our collective state. The referee's sharp eyes only took a glance before she diagnosed the broken bone of James and my cracked wrist. "You boys need to hurry to get to the infirmary. Now, everybody moves aside! Stop ogling them like an owl and give them space! Come on all of you, MOVE!" She yelled out the last part, making the others reacted to her authoritative tone.

That's how the two of us reluctantly got stuck side-by-side on a bed with Madam Pomfrey keeping a watchful eye on us, warning us to not move a muscle unnecessarily. Our friends and teammates were kicked out when it was clear they were only going to crowd around, so we were forced to be each other's company in the sterile room. Well, there was the small gerbil currently in my lap. I obscurely remembered someone shoving it on me at on epoint as some sort of "animal support". I have to admit, I was having a strange empathy for the little guy. Must be the leftover feeling of my guinea pig days.

"This is new, seeing you this quiet. Aren't you going to brag at scoring a win on us?"

James was oddly quiet, shooting me an unreadable expression. "Hey, Prissy."

"If you want my attention, use my name right, why don't you?"

"Do you really think the Lost Treasure exists?"

His question was asked almost at a whisper. I would have shot upright if Madam Pomfrey's warning didn't ring inside my head. I turned a wary gaze to her back, busy cocking up a potion for us before glancing back at the boy next to me.

"What's up with you? You were bragging about finding the Treasure a few weeks ago, what changed?"

He looked down on his cast arm and biting his lips, "Yeah, but what if it's not real. What if everything was some kind of sick joke a jerk with too much time made decades ago."

"...okay, you're starting to make me worry. Ignoring the fact the metaphoric jerk hides it with way too much effort, where did you get this idea from? You don't usually give in at the slightest doubt like this."

James looked away, giving away nothing of his thoughts. He then rummaged the pockets of his robes before his fist came out. He stayed still for a moment or two. Stretching his fist arm at me, revealing he was holding a...actually, I don't know what he was holding because all I can see is a small metal pipe the size of his palm.

He had no problem with me taking it on hand, and I tried examining it to see what was special. Yet, found nothing. Not even a hint of magic in it, "What's this supposed to be?"

"Apparently, that's the key to the Lost Treasure."

I hummed in acknowledgment before doing a double-take at him, then at the small useless piece of item that wasn't so useless after all. I must have shown my disbelief on my face since James snorted, "Yeah, can't believe it either. But it was what I got during our quick run through the small cave we encountered."

"What did your friends think of it? They might figure out something we don't, cause I got nothing."

James went back to looking away and biting his lips, again reluctant in his own words. If he keeps dragging this, I'm going to forget any empathy I have for the gerbil and throw it at him. He mumbled something incomprehensible from how soft he souded that I had to lean to the side and prompted him to say louder.

"I didn't tell them alright!" he hissed out. His tone showing it was one he didn't want to admit and was either too proud or ashamed of admitting, which doesn't add up for me.

"Wow there, no need to get your knickers in a twist. Not that it matters much for me but I've seen you guys, and you're all thick as thieves. I thought you'd tell them everything."

"Oh sure, that'd turn out well, 'Hey Fellas, you know that Lost Treasure we've been talking about? Turns out this piece of useless pipe I got from risking my life is the key, great right' How lame would that be?" His words were dripping with sarcasm that rivals my own, and I had to mentally applaud him for that.

"So?" I was genuinely confused why he's confronting me with this, "What do you want me to say? 'Don't sweat, they'll have faith in you, and the Lost Treasure surely exists' because if you want reassurance, you're asking from the wrong person. bud."

His scowl shifted from indignant to anger, "Oh, like you actually believe it even exists. Face it, it's just a story."

"You'd be surprised how real a story can be, I mean... when you think about it. Wizard and Witches are supposed to be just stories for Muggles, and yet here we are."

"That doesn't- _ugh_!" James was halfway looking like he wanted to ruffle his hair in frustration but remembered the cast he had. "Why can't you accept that this whole Treasure Hunt is a pointless effort and give up while you're ahead."

I looked back at my charge, and I mean really _look_ at him, trying to discern his motive, "Sounds to me you're trying to convince yourself rather than me." And I'm more curious why you're dragging me into your dilemma. I had to keep myself from rolling my eyes blatantly, who knew James could be such a Drama Queen. Good thing I didn't throw the Gerbil away, I need the animal support for this rather than pain relief. "Besides, whether I'm continually searching for the Lost Treasure, is frankly, none of your business."

James flushed red while keeping his scowl, and I knew I hit the mark on that one. "Shut up," he hissed, "Like you could understand what I'm going through. You have Snivellus and Li-Evans doing your bidding for Merlin-knows-what."

"Wow, wow, let's stop that train of thought of yours right there. Lily and Severus don't do anything what I say, they do whatever they want. What you're saying is the same as me assuming you're ordering your friends around and I don't like what you're implying." At some point, my tone turned grave and serious while glaring back at him.

James was silent for a bit, and even had the decency to look sheepish, "Right... sorry."

Huh, so he can actually apologize. Good to know.

"Boys," Madam Pomfrey's no-nonsense tone jolted our back straight. Each of her hands had a cup with ominous steam coming out, "I hope you haven't been aggravating your wounds, otherwise I'd be very cross."

"No Ma'am, nothing of the sort," My trained line coming out automatically. Even though I had a feeling she had been listening to some part of our conversation.

"Good, now drink…oh for heaven's sake! This again?" I was confused at her changed demeanor and glanced sideways to find James was much in the same thought. She put aside the drinks to reach for her wands, with a wave followed by quick words, my lap was suddenly occupied by a kid instead of a gerbil.

" _ **Di immortales!**_ " I shot away, accidentally kicking the poor kid out of bed.

"Goodness, again Frank? How many times has it been this month?"

The kid stood, dusted himself off, looking quite sheepish, he has a small stature even for someone around my age, his cheek was rosy red I don't know from shame or because his face was always like that.

"Sorry Madam, didn't mean to waste your time."

"You wouldn't be wasting my time if you tell me who's responsible for sending you my way all the time."

The Frank Kid only shrugged and kept his sheepish smile. It must have been a recurrent theme because the nurse didn't press further and dismissed him quickly before turning her attention back to us.

"As I was saying, drink this and your bones should be mended in seconds and you'd be free to go."

She offered us our ticket way out, and James gleefully accepted it, "Great, it's about time I get out of this bed." I said nothing even as I watch James about to eagerly gulp his drink when he noticed my stare, "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, nothing. Don't mind me, continue on."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously but shrugged me off as he took a mouthful of his potion.

Then promptly spit it out soon after. Hacking out soon after, his tongue most likely suffering the aftertaste by this moment. All the while, I had to keep myself from falling off the bed just to roll on the floor laughing, biting my lip hard, and giving out a soundless yet quivering laughter that was borderline suffocating.

"Good heavens, go ahead and waste my potion, why don't you? You better drink the rest of it or you'll have to heal your bone the hard way, and _you_. Stopped laughing and drink it up!" Pomfrey huffed, not at all surprised at his reaction but was irritated nonetheless. It was only thanks to my own experience with Sev's potion and managed to swallow the bile-I mean the graciously made medicine by the nurse without wasting a drop.

The Nurse took our mug once we're done, to be greeted with James' stink eye.

"Don't give me that, you would have done the same in my place, and you know it."

"It's annoying how I can't argue with that," he grumbled and I had no shame in giving him my biggest grin, but it fell away soon after James walked out of the infirmary. In hindsight, I should have let him walked away. I didn't come here to be his friend, and stopping him from being in this dangerous hunt in a mad school like Hogwarts would also protect him from danger. Hence, making my job easier. Not to mention I don't care much about him, not like I do with Sev and Lily. If I try, I'd probably come up with twenty more reasons why I could have- should have let him be.

"James, wait."

He stopped at my call, but his face was one extending a given patient so I went straight to the matter at heart.

"I don't know what else to say other than I don't think it should matter whether the Lost Treasure exists or not," his open mouth looked ready to protest, but I hold my hand up, "You saved our lives back then at the cave. Not only that, but you managed not only in finding the hidden cave in the Forbidden Forest, but you also broke the riddle in finding the key to the Lost Treasure." I held up the small pipe and threw it at him, he caught it flawlessly, "I'll say this once, but you were damn impressive back there James so you earned that. I bet half of the wizards here couldn't do what you'd have done back there so if you doubt the Treasure, at least don't doubt on yourself."

I indulged myself in watching James flapped his mouth that makes even fishes look normal, without getting so much as a word out. That got me to preened further. Yet his eyes, which looked ready to pop out, showed more than he might have cared to admit. A brief flash of insecurity before it was washed away by relief, with a hint of pride and vindication.

Ah.

So that's why.

No wonder I couldn't help reaching out to him.

He reminded me of when I was younger. Of when I was trying so hard to prove myself. When I tried to be better than what people assumed me to be. I'm not sure who or what he's trying to prove, but I recognized that determined glint in his eyes anywhere. I've seen it countless times from my own mirror when doubt would start festering in me before that gaze would blaze up when I challenged anyone who thinks I'm not good enough. Including myself.

... _wait,_ did I just admit " _He reminds me of when I was young"_ Dear gods, I'm getting old! Or at least, I'm starting to feel like it.

Ironic that I'm in a younger body and all.

"Why are you telling me this?"

I made a shrug and walked away, but James was relentless, seeing as he was walking at the same pace as me. This makes me roll my eyes, "Think of this as calling it even, you saved my life and I saved your small fragile ego."

James gritted his teeth at me, "You know what, Jackson? For a second, just for a second, I thought you weren't much of a 'duffer. Glad to know you haven't proven me wrong."

I smirked, and make it a point that I enjoy getting on his nerve, "And you're not so much of a musclehead, James. Once you actually use your brain for a change."

"You can talk, at least when I use my head things don't blow up on my face."

"The drowned cave said otherwise, besides, you obviously never seen my plan in action if you can say that."

"It's actually the various mishap spells you made, but you're welcome to prove me right anytime."

We argued that way, back and forth, and didn't realize we were grinning halfway through, trying to best the others. Even laughing at some of our choice of words. It was surprisingly easy for us to get along.

Our conversation was cut off when we heard the unmistakable sound of a scuffle that railed our path away toward it.

Whatever I was expecting, it certainly wasn't Sirius hexing Sev while his cronies watched, looking unapologetic. I didn't know Peter very well, but I certainly didn't think Remus could look as apathetic as he was then. They were watching silently behind Sirius as Sev's head shrink or enlarge, while he was too busy scratching his body until he fell to the ground yet his foot remain in the same spot.

How many hexes did they put on him?

Thinking it was time to break the party, I ran at them while shouting "Hey, what's the big idea over here?!" Pulling out my wand, I undo the few hexes I knew which made him stop twitching and his head turning back to normal. I crouched beside him, giving him time for a breather.

"What's all this?" James asked, clearly surprised at the sight as I am.

Sirius' cold eyes didn't leave Sev. His grip on his visible wand made me show off my own wand, silently warning him to back off.

"Oh, just showing Snivellus here how hexing is done. Seeing how much he _loves_ hexes like the creepy little Slytherin he is," he sneered.

"I..." James looked between me and his friends, "I don't get it."

"He hexed your broom during the match," Remus piped up beside him, "I saw him, waving his wand and chanting all the way at you when you had trouble controlling your broom, it didn't take much to put two and two together." He glared accusingly at us.

I gaped at the accusation, my lips snarled, ready to defend Sev. Then I took a glimpse at his face and found he wasn't meeting any of our eyes, chewing his lips, and looking not at all nonplussed or bristled in objection. Instead, he looked much more resigned.

"Severus?" I prodded, but he gave no answer. I switched my attention to James and was not surprised at the scathing glare he gave him- no, us.

"Is that so? Feeling threatened in getting your high horse kicked in so you had your little _friend_ make sure I took the fall, didn't you?"

"What? No!" Did this guy forget _I_ was the one who saved his ass from his broom? Where's the logic in that?

"Saved your excuses, Prissy. It's clear what kind of person you are. What was I thinking, thinking you were okay? I'm an idiot for falling for your act for even a second. Let's go guys." James left with the rest of his friends, and I just knew things are going to get more complicated because of this.

I watched them until they were out of sight before giving myself in for the heavy sigh, turning back at my friend, "Care to explain?" I asked pointedly.

"He deserved it!" he practically spat out.

I offered my hand and help him up, "That's not what I'm asking."

"You can't possibly defend that...that...cocky...know it all...twat!"

"Still doesn't answer my question."

"Percy."

"Severus."

He blew out an agitated breath but looking not the less guilty, "It's his fault for not seeing it coming. He sabotaged your training the last time, you can't expect us to leave him off the hook like that."

"Severus."

"I'm sorry that you were caught up with it, I didn't think you would go that far to save him."

"You got him hurt."

"We got hurt several times by him!"

"He didn't exactly aim to hurt any of us."

"Doesn't excuse his action any less."

"So does that mean it should excuse yours?"

"Why are you even defending him?"

"I'm not-" but I was cut off before I could start.

"I don't see you this reserve last year when we had them stick their heads down the toilet."

"They put their own heads in the toilet, it's not my fault they were idiots. And that was a harmless prank while you were actively trying to hurt him."

"Oh please, it's not like he would have died from the fall."

I pinched the bridge of my nose from an impending headache, I forgot despite how smart and mature he is, Severus could still be a brat sometimes. It doesn't help that he genuinely doesn't think his action was in the wrong.

"Severus, you need to understand that there is a time and place for everything, and hexing a player in the middle of a Quidditch match during a high-speed chase is not the right time for a small payback."

He threw his arm up, "I can't believe this. You're being a hypocrite, you know that? You're the one who said to make a point not to let them step on us. And since when do they care about time and place?"

Ugh, he's got a point and I was having difficulty refuting him when he argues with logic instead of common decency.

...is this what it feels like having to be the mature and responsible one? I don't like it.

"Forget it, I'm done. See if I care the next time _your_ head gets stuck in the toilet." Then he turned his heel and walked away with long stride between his steps. Leaving me staring up at the ceilings, praying to the unanswered gods of what I was supposed to do.

This is so not in my job prescription.


	15. Know Thee Shakespeare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: Our relationship (if I could even call that) with the Quartet Gryffindors worsen because of Severus's misguided attempt of prank that could have made me proud but instead led to our first fight which ended as bad as anyone would have guessed. The Lost Treasure became a back burner, but trust me that no one had given up anytime soon.

"I'm surrounded by idiots." Lily had both hands at the side of her head, massaging the growing headache from my explanation.

"Now that's a bit harsh, I say they're more misguided- _ow!_ " I was given a harsh slap on the arm by one miffed ginger.

"Don't think you're not one of them. I told you that giving in this pranking war was a bad idea, but did you listen? No. Now that Sev has his mind set on that giving payback is a good idea!"

"It's not like we're the only one."

"Doesn't matter, what matter is that you were a poor example to Severus so now he has worse habit than before."

"You're being unreasonable, are you saying it's my fault?"

"I'm not saying it's your fault, I'm saying it's _partially_ your fault. If this feud drags on until...until...until it becomes some sort of family feud then I'm holding you responsible to it."

I had a brief image of a couple of families composed of James and Sev's look-alikes while glaring daggers at one another as they compete in a game show with Steve Harvey hosting. I shook off the image quickly, "Okay, now you're just being overdramatic."

"Sev hasn't talked with us for weeks. _Weeks!_ How could I not be dramatic? He's your best friend, and not talking to us at all is just so… _wrong_." Then she turned to glare back at me, "And you've been holding this back from me," she rightfully accused.

"To be fair, he would have talked to you if you weren't hanging around me."

"Don't be ridiculous, either I have both of you with me or none at all."

"So… does that mean you don't want me here? If so, I'm pretty sure Myrtle would appreciate my company more."

She snorted, and pulled my sleeve, forcing me to her side before I could move away. Not like I was fighting it, "Don't be a smart-arse Percy"

"Oi, language Miss Evans."

"I learn it from you, see how bad of an influence you've been."

"Oh sure, blame it all on me, why don't you?"

Lily winced, "Sorry, I'm… stressed enough as it is, the fact midterms are closing in, doesn't help my case."

I nodded, "Understandable, I usually have Sev helping me with this so I'm riding this exam mostly through luck."

"Is that wise?"

"Nope."

"Are you going to crash and burn?"

I nodded solemnly, "Most likely."

She didn't deem me with her usual rolled eyes, "Why am I not surprise?"

"Because you know me so well. By the way, you know I'm always open to help you right? Including finishing your food." I pointed at her plate of half-eaten pancakes, and Lily sighed before pushing it toward me. I happily dig in which made Lily eyed me unhappily.

"Aren't you the least worried about him, what if Sev never talks to us again?"

" _Nyomp_ ," I said between bites before swallowing, "Nope, Sev is just angry but that doesn't change the fact he's our friend. Sure, he's being a bit bratty now, but he's still one of the most mature kids I know, he won't abandon us that easily."

"How can you be so sure?" Her tone was more demanding than questioning.

I shrugged, "Faith, what else?"

Lily kept her gaze locked at me even when I got up and ushered out of the Great Hall, ready for the next lesson that day. It's not like I don't have my own worries on how Sev would continue to act with us, or specifically me, but it wouldn't do to have Lily worry as much as she did and I do have faith in Severus. Maybe I was being unreasonably optimistic about all this, for all I know he could be doing unsupervised rituals using McDonald's just to get back at me.

Still, what's done is done. Sev isn't even the talking-type-about-mushy-feelings kind of guy so forcing him to talk would only make things worse. What I can do is give the space he wanted and talk to him when he's ready.

I went to class for DADA and felt disturbed from the class. Oh, it's not like Professor Heckler did anything new or made my life harder or anything, I wouldn't be surprised if he did. No, what was puzzling was the fact he was in a good mood. As if I had returned his precious book back, and washed his hand from the problem. Unfortunately, his good mood made the student nauseous at the visible sight of his crooked yellow teeth.

Despite the raise suspicion I had of him, there was nothing I could do about it so I shoved it at the back of my mind to dwell on it later. Not the wisest decision with me having a short attention span.

It was when the class was barely finished when Professor McGonagall, Sprout, and Slughorn barge into the room. Their appearance was unexpected to both students and teacher, and a sudden hushed fell in the class.

"Pardon us, Professor Heckler," McGonagall didn't sound at all "pardon", "But we like to borrow Mister Jackson's time from out of your hand."

It said something that I wasn't even fazed by all the eyes that turn to gaze at me, just this sudden urge to cry out, "Why me?"

Nevertheless, I swallowed that urge and followed them out. I was sure I hadn't had cause problem other than the expected spell mishap. So the whys are completely obscure to me."

"Is there a problem Professor?" I asked, genuinely perplexed at the odd yet tense air surrounding the pair of teachers.

"You are close friends with Mister Snape, correct?" Professor McGonagall queried, which already raise warning bells from her misplaced question coming from a teacher. Well, misplaced if nothing was wrong.

The ringing was still there even as I nod in reply, even when my gut churn while she kept asking, "When was the last time you saw him?"

My lips felt strangely dry from her insistent reminder of him. I thought Sev had just been avoiding me, but I also haven't seen any sign of his hide anywhere, "I...I'm not sure... a few days maybe? We...we weren't really talking these days...what happened?"

For a split second, there was a flash of alarm on her face before she quickly schooled into her usual neutral look that I would have missed if I hadn't been paying close attention. "Nothing, we'll continue this another time but if you find Severus please notify one of the Professors immediately." She turned away, and my nose flared at the clear act of dismissal she made.

One of the downsides of being young again is that you rarely were taken seriously. Your words won't have the same weight of concern as from an adult, and they would usually found ways more to keep you in the dark and play stupid when usually we're usually anything but, and I had enough of that.

"No," I told her. The professors all turned in surprise by my steely tone and the hard glare I gave with my arms crossed, "You don't get to ask me for answers and then ignore one of my own, I deserve at least a proper explanation."

"Mister Jackson this isn't any of your concern—"

"The hell is not," I snapped, not caring of how rude I sounded in front of the teachers and ignored the indignant call of " _Mister Jackson_!" from Professor Sprout, "You're asking about my best friend _._ If you don't start answering some questions then I'll find it myself."

"You don't have to involve yourself, Percy. This case is irrelevant to you and frankly, I had enough of your inappropriate behavior." McGonagall sounded strained, and it pushed all kinds of buttons inside me to be treated like I'm some clueless kid.

"So? I'm a child, not an idiot. I can decide for myself whether it's irrelevant to me or not."

Our eyes met and we matched our pointed gaze with one another as if it could prove a point, neither of us willing to back down. Professor Sprout was too flustered by the situation, while Professor Slughorn tried to soothe the Transfiguration Professor into calming down her rising blood pressure but it'd seem to fall deaf to her ears.

"It's fine Minerva, you can tell him." We broke off from our glaring contest when a smooth solid voice cut through the tense air as easily as butter. Not surprised it came from Dumbledore, that man could cut into any conversation. "Severus, while a bright child you would know, is someone who has trouble associating with people yet held close to the one dearest to him. He deserved to know as the few people that child trusted completely."

Her hawk nose flared but said nothing, even when she was standing like the primp and proper teacher she is, dissatisfaction was oozing around her. Had she continued her way, she might have prepared to pull on my ear and flashed me with her set of fang teeth on my face, clawing at my throat and—oh wait, my bad, I mixed her with Ms. Dodds.

"It's been three days we've seen Severus Snape has not been present in any classes, nor by his fellow housemates in his common room." I should feel more surprised, but this only confirms one of the worst-case scenarios in my head. All I could think was Sev's face and cursed at him for the kind of trouble he got himself into.

"We've been searching for his whereabouts but found no clue as of yet, not even with some of the searching spells used to this point which concerns us greatly."

"Is there anything I could help with?" The simultaneous stare they were giving me was one I was indignant with, the looked at me as if thinking " _What could this child possibly do for us that we adults couldn't?_ " All except Dumbledore off course.

"Not today Percy, though we appreciate your concern over your friend. We promise to inform you of the latest news regarding his whereabouts."

 _But not as soon as you are informed_ , I noted. While his words could mean a number of things, it didn't escape my attention that he didn't say _when_ he'd be informing me. I didn't think Dumbledore would deliberately delay any update on Severus to me, but the idea passed my mind nonetheless.

With a wave of his hand, the professors turned their back and walked away, but not before Dumbledore made a slight paused in his step that took my notice.

"It's a lovely day outside, isn't it?" he said thoughtfully, "While pursuing knowledge is a valiant and honorable effort to spend your time, perhaps going out for fresh air outside could help clear your mind. I hear the lake is a good place to start."

I eyed him quizzically at his words but he continued onwards as if he had said nothing. Taking on his suggestion, I soon found myself at the edge of the Black Lake.

I blew out frustratingly as I looked upon the expanse lake stretching out from Hogsmeade. The close presence of the water cooled my head down but I roughed up my hair, not seeing anything that would help out Sev's situation I assumed Dumbledore hinted. Maybe the Old Wizard really wanted me to get some fresh air.

There was an itch creeping inside me. I rolled the heel of my balls and dig through the wet soil. My fingers twitched from every blow of the wind that sent the smell of water. It took me a while to complement the pro and cons, but my feet had succumbed to the water before I could decide and I was submerged fully under it.

The last time I was here, I had just escaped being possessed by a giant blob of blue fire and met a weird mysterious lady who gave me her weird jewel stone that I kept alongside with my own collection of gods' stuff.

I forgot the lake, is the epitome of its namesake, that it wasn't as pitch black as the surface had been. Heck, it was actually almost as clear as daylight. As if the surface water had taken all the darkness in place for it. Last time I hadn't got the chance to examine the place underwater and took an eyeful.

It was like looking at a forest, a forest of seaweed perhaps but a forest in its own right. Waverly stretching tall, hiding most creatures who would live underneath a literal magical lake beside a magical castle. Truly, something out of a fairy tale.

Well, I say fairy tale but that sounded overrated when I see nothing but seaweed, sand, coral, and rocks.

Then a large shadow slightly dampened the light, I looked up to find a large tentacle above. It twisted and turned and coiled around me like how dogs would nestle against their owner's warmth.

" _Good day My Lord, what brings you here today?_ "

Greg, the Giant Squid appeared before me with all his wide bobbly eyes glory. I smiled and couldn't help but have my hand reached out to caress him.

" _I'm doing fine Greg. Well...in the loosest term of fine."_

" _May I inquire you on what ails your mind?"_

I laughed, resulting bubbles of water blew out from my mouth, " _All you need is thou and thee and you master Shakespearean."_

" _Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love."_

Silent stretched as I stared blankly at him, ignoring the bubbles that came out like a drool because I couldn't hold my jaw up.

" _I have lived for a long time you know, I picked up a hobby or two, and I am a fan of the man's work."_

Words still couldn't found me, or is it I couldn't find any words? Either way, it is almost felt surreal when a squid knows more about literature than me, I feel like an uncultured swine.

I shook my head, and changed the subject, " _By the way, you don't happen to see Severus, do you? You know, the little guy from the same boat as me last year. Skinny. Pale skin. Droopy eyes. Hair that looks like he washes with grease."_

Greg blinked in thought, no answer came but seeing it was no confirmation or denial, I was feeling optimistic, or maybe hopeful would be the right term.

" _Ah, the Pale Child, I remember to come across his path around three days ago."_

" _Really, where was he? What was he doing here? Was he okay?"_

" _Calm down My Lord. As for your questions...well...oddly enough he was in the pipes Sire."_

" _Pipes?"_

" _Yes, I spotted him venturing in it from the Slug Pit."_

I blinked as the words registered in my head _, " There's a Slug Pit?"_ Why on Gae's name would Hogwarts need a Slug Pit?

" _At the lowest level of the castle, you would the pit there and Young Severus had ventured."_

" _Underneath the–how would you know that? You live in a lake!"_

Greg shifted side to side, looking down almost embarrassingly and...is he blushing? Do squid even blushes? " _I...eh...sometimes I visit the school through the pipes and see all the changes they may have."_

" _You mean you sneaked in,"_ I pointed out with a teasing grin.

" _Now, now, My Lord. Please be reasonable, you make me sound like a prude. Besides, where else would I've met the man of action?"_

" _I never guessed...anything else you could tell me of Severus? Anything at all that comes to mind?"_

" _I'm not sure My lord, though I have a high suspicion he was onto me. He kept inspecting the inner pipes and almost spotted me."_

That was all I needed to know before I gave my thanks and sped out of the lake. I made to run back to school when I trip over nothing and glanced back at the lake with shock as I reeled back our conversation.

"Wait...Shakespear a wizard?"

**. . .**

I found Lily was using her free time hanging out with her friends in the courtyard.

I felt almost bad breaking her peace like this. Almost. "Lily!" She stopped laughing and turned questioningly at me, "We've got a problem, it's Severus."

Already she went flying out the chair, giving apologetic glances to her two girlfriends, before she followed me down the hallways at the same hasty pace as me.

"What happened?"

"Sev's gone. The teachers are searching, but judging by how they questioned me, they were going nowhere in finding him. "

She sucked a deep breath, eyes blown in worry and fear before she forcefully calmed herself. "Okay...okay, what are we going to do then?"

It was a testament to Lily's faith that she expected the two of us to act together and pictured the kind of life we lived in.

"Talk to a guy, said he spotted him in the Slug Pit–"

Predictably, Lily scrunched her nose, "Slug Pit?"

"Don't ask. Severus is there so it's our job to save his butt from whatever trouble he got himself in."

"That's a change for you, usually it's the other way around," she smirked.

"It's about time then that I even the score then, don't you think?"

It was easier said than done though. Knowing there's a Slug Pit and actually finding said Slug Pitt was a different matter altogether. It made me wonder where Sev even got the idea.

"Should we check the dungeons? You did say it was underground," Lily suggested.

I was about to say yes until I thought back to the many pickle jars and gruesome ingredients during potion class, one of which was the endless supply of slugs.

I wonder…

**. . .**

There weren't any potion classes at the moment, but there were still Slytherins crawling around the woodwork. Considering the gloomy atmosphere any respectful dungeon would have, it's no wonder most of the Snake House had a stick in their butts. Who in the right mind would put their dormitory next to where they kept their prisoners? That surely would have gone well.

There weren't any students in class but there was a person of interest we were looking for.

Professor Slughorn was humming cheerily of the tune "Broom to You" as he organized the halved ingredients in my hand. I don't know much about wizards music taste, from what the girls in class told me is that the song is the equivalent of a boy band song written for the young witches. So it was a surprise for us both to hear him sing it.

It was awkward for the three of us when I cleared my throat, surprising the professor. His back went ramrod straight and juggled the glass jar in hand before it could fell. He turned to face us, his plump cheeks flushed.

"Ah Percy Jackson and...my, my, Lily Evans, my favorite student, welcome! This is an odd time for you to come by, what can I do for you?"

His act was oddly more joyful than usual, and I decided it was not my place to judge a man's taste of music. Luckily, I have Lily to set the subject straight without getting distracted.

"Professor Slughorn, we came wondering where you got your slugs?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know, the slugs you used in your potions."

There was a pause before comprehension dawn on the Slytherin Professor, "Why yes. Of course. Silly me, I knew that. What else could you have meant."

He was acting shifty but none of us commented on it. "Professor, the slugs?"

"Yes, yes, sorry, you caught me off guard with that peculiar question. Why do you ask this?"

I wasn't sure how to answer and was running out of excuse, or worse I might blurt out that we had a thing for escargot.

Thankfully, Lily was already prepared for this, "Both of us had been talking about the splendor of the Hogwarts castle and how many secrets it contains. We thought if you knew something like the Slug Pit, you would know more secrets hidden here. After all, you're one of the oldest teachers in the faculty, second to Professor Dumbledore. I had confidence that your unparalleled wisdom would surely uncover most of the secrets here."

There was a brief thought that Lily was laying the compliment a little too thick, but from the pleased smile Slughorn had, I say he ate up every word of it.

"A remarkable assessment Miss Evans, as expected of my Star Pupil. Indeed, Hogwarts does have many secrets that even Professor Dumbledore has a hard time to uncover. The Slug Pit is one of the kept secret dungeon rooms, but the story is actually quite funny.".

"Really? Do tell."

"Well, the school once had an ugly case of Slug Infestation you see. One bad enough that they had to keep in under wraps in one of their unused dungeon room, and it soon became their personal breeding grounds. Though I have no doubt, Potion teachers for generations, have been more than happy to have one ingredient free for the taking."

"Does the room connects to the Hogwarts plumbing, or maybe the sewers by any chance?"

Slughorn blinked a few times before he answered, "That's a... queer question you have, but yes. The slugs flooded the place with slime so we had to arrange the pipes to drain them out, but it was plugged in, no one had ever tried to fix it since."

Talk about lazy management, well I suppose with magic, you could be lazy with certain things.

"Do you think we can go there and observe where the slugs live?"

"We want to see the slugs very much."

Slughorn pinned us in a scrutinized gaze, probably wondering if he should believe a couple of kids would eagerly want to see slugs like it was the next fidget spinner.

"While I do believe you have your academic interest at heart Miss Evans, I'm not quite sure if this was truly your idea or you've been coaxed by your friend."

He didn't turn to look at me, but he might as well have when he was blatantly saying I'm a bad influence on her on my face. Not that I mind, some part of me was secretly agreeing with him. What kind of sane kid would drag his friend to an underground adventure filled with slime and danger?

Ignore that, it was a rhetorical question.

Lily did not look like she thinks the same and held back the fumed she almost let loose, "As a matter of fact Professor, this was purely my idea and Percy was so kind to accompany me in my curious academical venture."

"I see." Slughorn was smiling but there was still a dubious tone coating the two words of his. "While your enthusiasm is much appreciated, the lower dungeons are restricted for a reason and I advise you seek them no longer."

I waited for Lily's sharp retort but was slightly surprised to find her shoulder and head slumped in defeat. "I understand," she said almost sincerely, "but would it mind you to tell us where we would find the entrance to it? Just in case we accidentally found and could avoid it."

Slughorn tapped his chin in thought before shrugging, "Why not, it's locked anyway. You could find the Slug Pit next to the storeroom by the end of the hall."

"Thank you so much for your time spend with is Professor Slughorn, good day to you." She answered in that dutiful vein she had when being the proper student of Hogwarts before dragging me out of from the Potion Class and whispered, "We'll have to sneak in there tonight, meet up after curfew."

"I assume you have an idea to get us passing that locked door."

"You can still pick the locked door, right?"

I couldn't help the raised eyebrow at that, " I know it's for a good cause, but the sound of Lily Evans encouraging me to do illegal acts never ceased to amaze me"

"Sod off Percy or I'll look up whether raising you as a slug is illegal or not, " she threatened, and it would have rightfully scared me to compile, but the slight curve of her lips betrayed her words and making me chuckled instead.

"As you wish, Lily."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas to my Christian readers happy holidays to the rest!!!
> 
> TO be honest, I'm still not satisfied with it yet couldn't think of a better way to write the next step for this chapter. I will probably have plot holes or just skewed logic but hope you could bear with me here so I could finally move on with the plot while still enjoying it.
> 
> And Yes, it is my Headcanon that Greg the Squid likes to slither his way inside Hogwarts through the big ass pipes that could let a damn BASILISK slither through the wall of Hogwarts. I thought it'd be funny since I find few couples of stories of the intelligence of Octopus in escaping tanks, posing for pictures, or even trolling their caretaker.
> 
> Hmm, what did you say? Greg's a squid, not an octopus? Well, my dear readers, Greg here is not just your ordinary squid, he is a magical giant squid so I say "SCREW LOGIC, I DO WHAT I WANT, THIS IS WIZARDRY NOT SCIENCE!"
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed it.


	16. Forgiveness Comes in All Kinds of Ridiculousness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: So busy in giving him space, I hadn't realized Severus went missing until it was too late. After a talk with our residence Shakespeare-loving squid, it's time for me and Lily do our signature snooping late night in our own school.

"Is this going to be a thing for us, breaking and entering our own school?" Lily turned from her guarding spot to glance at my crouched form as I easily picked the locked door.

The telling sound of the ancient lock being picked open had me smirk victoriously, "This is too easy. If the school only rely on their magic for security, I say it's asking for a break-in."

Lily flapped her mouth in shock before shaking her head, "There are just... so many things wrong with that logic that I don't know where to start."

"You know me Lils, just go with the flow, me."

The door creaked open and we tensed. Not knowing whether anyone, alive or dead, had heard it. Sensing no presence, we stared down at the set of stairs leading down toward a patch of darkness, too dark to know what awaits us below.

The stench certainly said otherwise. I could only conclude wizards had some sort of Smellproof Spell because there's no way they would have kept the stench of the dank sewage air otherwise from slipping through the sorry state of the wooden door. It was enough to make me question what the heroes in all those retro adventure games when they had a quest through the sewage of a medieval castle because I doubt those quests were worth any of this.

When we reached the last step of the stairs, however, it was... clean. Weird. I was sure Slughorn mentioned there was a lot of slime from the slug infestation, but there's barely any at the moment. The only few lefts were sticking at the high walls or ceiling. As if something had swiped them in a single sweep. I felt my hair rise on alert, wary of anything that might just pop out from the darkness.

"Never thought I'd be anything but thrilled to see a place cleaned up."

"It looks recent," Lily observed, "There's still a mark of slime stubbornly sticking on the wall–look!"

She pointed at a particular corner, the bricks there caved or shattered, revealing a giant rusted pipe behind the walls of the hidden dungeon. The most glaring thing about it was the giant hole on the side that broke outward _from_ the pipe.

"What could cause this?"

Lily moved closer, her hand hovered over the edge of the hole, carefully not to touch. "I think the slime must have sped up the rusting on it, so when there's great pressure from the pipe, the water broke it through and swept most of the slugs and slimes away."

Part of me wanted to ask how slimes could speed up rust because science says that's a ball of crap, but then we're not dealing with science anyway.

"There's even a footprint here, around our size, no doubt about it, Sev was here."

I whistled, impressed. Lily could be really sharp at times. "So then Nancy Drew, what's our next move?"

She turned back to me, and arched an eyebrow, "Isn't that obvious?"

With a small amount of trepidation, we ventured to the depth of the pipes of plumbs in the search of the missing Slytherin of the shrouded mystery castle of Hogwarts.

And let me tell you that the pipes here are abnormally huge, enough that it feels like we're going into a cave where maybe a hydra or a dragon could make a nest in, hidden from the prying eyes of the school. I could see how Greg managed to crawl his way around and stalk Shakespeare.

Still, the tunnel of pipes reminds me more of a subway rail. My mind kept derailing to movie scenes of blinding light of an upcoming train from behind and head twitching to glance behind me to find nothing but my paranoia.

"This place is massive and goes all over the castle, how are we going to find Severus?"

"You don't happen to know any tracking spell, do you?"

"If it were that easy, don't you think the teachers would have found him by now?"

"Yeah, good point, but the pipes here are made like mazes. I hate mazes, don't have the best memory of them."

"Oh, come on Percy, how bad can it be?"

Hmm...around the fact it was Kronos-reviving-volcano-erupting-grade bad, I wanted to say but stayed silent.

Perhaps because I was too busy reminiscing, maybe my ADHD got me distracted, I don't know, but I wrong foot and I found myself sliding down the pipes with a yell and went through the craziest slide ride. My stomach dropped to different sides when I was positive I went sideways and even went through a loopy-loop (who even does that to a plumbing?)

The ride was over when the ground was pulled beneath me, and I was falling (yet again) toward the clean dark ground below me and the only thing in my mind was _not today._

I pulled my center gravity and using my honed instinct I've trained, I swung myself until my feet were aimed down and I successfully landed without a tumble. Pumping down a fist with a quiet " _yes"_ at my success.

But then a familiar screeched that was getting louder by the second. I looked up too late before a fifty-something pound landed squarely on me.

Lily groaned in obvious nausea, "Note to self, never ever go back to the sewer. Ever."

"Sound advice, but could you take note to get off me now?!"

She meeped, scrambling away in haste before helping me up, "Sorry Percy, you okay?"

"I've had worse. Now, where did the pipes landed us-" I left my jaw gawking at the sight before me. And no, it wasn't the large metal door that had snakes engraved to them to encompassed around it like a secret entrance, but the large pothole where said secret entrance that looked it was pulled out of the wall.

And judging by how it was offed, it wasn't from a natural cause.

"What happened here?"

"I think Sev just proved the Invulnerable Door Fallacy works on magic as well."

She frowned at the unfamiliar term, "Meaning?"

"No matter how secure or impenetrable a door is, the wall might not be so. I'm more curious on what type of spell he used to carve out the whole door."

"You know Severus, that kid honestly has the strangest idea in his head sometimes."

"It works out for our benefit so I'm not complaining. Now come on!"

We edged forward to the hole and gaped, not expecting the place we find. Our eyes swept through the room, white sheen wall, giant pillars, and white tiles encompassing the space's floor. On either side were rows of snake statues and at the end of the chamber was the carved face on the wall that managed to capture his _I'm-better-than-you-peasants_ look through his eye.

"Where are we?" Lily voiced out her shock, "even knowing Hogwarts has a secret underground room, this is…"

"Yeah," I agreed absentmindedly, "Whoever made it had an obvious Snake Fetish."

"Snake... snake... that's it, Percy! Do you think this is some kind of secret room of Salazar Slytherin? This must be what Sev had talked about before."

"You mean the Chamber of Secret? The same legendary chamber that was supposed to keep something that could potentially kill the whole student body?"

Lily's wide eye had a different glint as her whole face turned shocking pale, "And Sev's alone with it."

" _ **Di immortales**_ ," I cursed vehemently, "Next you'll say this where the Hogwarts Treasure is." Her face lit up like Apollo had personally given her enlightenment, and I turned ludicrously at her, "You're not serious."

"Maybe it's not here, but you know what else Slytherin could have hidden here?"

The same light seemed to dawn on me too, "The key to the Lost Treasure."

"Exactly! Sev must have thought the same thing, that must be why he went down all the way here."

If I found out that's true, I'm going to wring that brat's little neck for making us worry over a stupid key. "Okay, so we found the chamber then what do we do now? Sev is obviously nowhere."

"Maybe we can ask him?"

"Who?"

Lily pointed at the giant statue head of Salazar Slytherin on the wall, "Last time we had met with Gryffindor's Painting and Hufflepuff's Tree, maybe now we need to ask Slytherin's Bust?"

"Worth a try," I cleared my throat and let my voice echoed throughout the chamber, "We are here to seek the key for the Hogwart Treasure from the Great Salazar Slytherin!"

My redheaded friend rolled and exasperated eye at me, "Don't be ridiculous Percy, there's no way it would be that simple–"

She was cut off when the whole chamber trembled. Not enough to knock us down but enough for us to be wary. The sound of grinding stone made us realized it was coming from the statue, and we witnessed the old man's mouth opening, eyeballs rolling up front to show his pupil, and a crease was made between his eyes. The whole face became more life-like as the stone face showed an annoyed expression.

"Who here calls upon my name?" The statue, Salazar Slytherin, boomed. His loud voice combined with the echoes gave him an almost disembodied voice.

"It works?!" She couldn't help but said disbelievingly. My only response was a shrug. I didn't think it'd be that easy, but hey? If it works, it works.

We both looked back up at the large head of one of the founders. Lily had audibly gulped but took the first step forward, eyes never breaking contact. "Great Founder Slytherin, we come to ask of...of...of those who seek the key to the Treasure of Hogwarts"

"Seeking the key you say? An odd question to answer for." His eyes narrowed down at her, his mouth curled into a sneer, "Then again, what would I expect from Godric's children."

Her cheeks flushed and she glared up at the elder statue. She looked ready to give him a piece of her mind so I had to intervene between them, "Great Salazar, we came here for some answers because we suspect one of your children was here and was lost. We would like to find and make sure he's safe and bring him back."

"And what would you have me do if I have nothing to say to your inquiry? I have no obligation to answer to a child, much less from a duff' Puff."

Oh great, another one of those. "Well, I assume this is your proud Chamber of Secret, right? Not much of a secret if this "Puff" goes up and blows up how to find it to the entire student body, wouldn't it?" I challenged with my arm crossed, daring him.

The statue slit eyes' narrowed even further. I was sure he would love to have his wand and curse me on his own. But then a creepy smile crept up his lips. "That is a very Slytherin thinking of you, as expected of Helga's child, she got the most diverse kids in her lot." There was a hint of appreciation in his tone, maybe a bit of awe? Whichever it was, it was not an expression both of us had expected from him.

"You sound like you admired her."

"Admire? Bah, humbug, what would I have to admire that airhead? Despite our differences, I do have the highest respect for her keen eye. She saw potential from those who people deem as no worth, and while I don't agree with her silly peace-monger idea, as a group they have more achievements than individually like any other houses. The other houses tend to be more flashy about it."

"Fascinating as that is," Lily cut him off, getting straight to our objective, "You wouldn't mind answering our question now, would you?"

The stone grind and dust flies as the bust tilt its face in thought, "Ah, yes. Indeed, one of my children did come to this chamber. I thought my door was foolproof but he was a true Slytherin. He found a way to get what he wants, whatever it takes, and broke the rule with it. It's disappointing he's not my Heir, and a half-blood too. For shame."

"What did he want?"

"You've already known, Godric's child had said it, didn't she?"

"The key," I reaffirmed my answer.

"Exactly, so as my one of own, I graciously showed him where I had hidden it, but if he manages to retrieve it or die trying is entirely up to him."

Lily closed her mouth, smothering her high pitch gasped as she looked on the verge of tears. I was clenching my fist hard at the image of him alone, facing uncertain death. While I know he is capable despite his age, doesn't mean anyone should face them regardless.

"Take us to him."

Salazar looked unimpressed at me. My signature Death Glare isn't as potent in my twelve-year-old body, "Hmm, demanding, aren't you? Very well, swear on your magic that you say nothing of this chamber to anyone outside of this sacred place."

"You're putting us an Unbreakable Vow?!" Lily shrieked, sounding hysterical.

"For Lord's sake, calm down you foolish child! Of course not. For one, it's not possible since I'm not even alive. Second, you youngster don't have the knowledge to be the third party of fulfilling the requirement of an Unbreakable Vow. No, you'll be making the Sacred Oath. It's not unlike the Vow, but you can cast it alone and it'll only result in a jinx when broken."

"That... doesn't sound too bad."

"Can you say the same to the countless Dark Arts Teacher that left either cursed, mutilated, killed, or died in a horrific accident? Compared to the vow, jinxes are much more unpredictable, you never know what you could suffer with."

"How do you even know that? You're a statue at a secret underground chamber."

"I have my ways. Do we have an accord, children?"

We both exchanged a wordless conversation, we knew there was never a consideration otherwise. Lifting our wand, as one would before a duel, we spoke in unison.

"I, Percy Jackson–"

"I, Lily Evans–"

 _"–swear in my magic to never divulge the existence of the Chamber of Secret to anyone outside this chamber._ "

Blue lights emitted from the tip of our wands, swirling the wand, down our wands, and reaching eight to our hearts. There wasn't any pain or tingle that tells me if we've done the spell correctly.

Salazar's satisfied grin looked like a canary who got his prey, "I deem your oath worthy and accept so I'll allow you to find what you seek. Beware of the Serpent King and for whatever folly you'll face, is on your head alone."

After warning us, he opened his mouth wider than humanly possible, not like he was human anyway, giving his mouth an unnatural edge, his teeth shifted into bars you only thing was to lock something in...or keep something out.

I have no doubt it's the latter in this case.

Looking over at the dark tunnel ahead of us, I glanced at Lily and was surprised to find her not at all afraid. Her face set and determined, glaring up the same darkness as me as if daring it to try and scare her away. I wasn't ashamed to say she looked way cooler at that moment.

"Ready?" She asked me.

"As I'll ever be."

It took less than five steps in before a semblance of regret pricked at us.

Laying asleep within the dim darkness of the cell was the most ginormous snake I've ever seen and could have made into a giant's pet. The rise and fall of its breathing figure showed how very much alive this thing was.

"If it wakes up, do you think it'd get hungry? Because I hope we're not in the menu" I couldn't help blurt out. My attempt at breaking the tension just made it worse.

" _Shutupshutupshutupshutup,"_ she frantically hissed. Her hold on my wrist was so tight, I'm a bit worried she'd pull my hand off.

Then we heard it, "Percy, Lily, is that you?"

The fear washed away in exchange for our feet hasting toward the voice. We spotted Sev alright. As relief as we were to find him relatively harmless, being stuck underneath the tail of wildly dangerous monsters that could kill us with only a glare did not help ease the situation.

That didn't stop me from giving Sev my best judgemental and disappointed look, "I honestly don't know what I should ask first, The freaking chamber of secret or the deadly giant snake on top of you first?!"

"I'd like to ask the same, but I can't without regretting my life choices."

Our banter must have snapped whatever shock Lily was in because she almost yelled his name if I hadn't covered her mouth. " _Sshh_ , must I remind you of the big damn snake we're not trying to wake!"

I waited for Lily to nod, but she mumbled something about my language, before letting her go, "What should we do? Can we pull him out?"

"That'd be great, I've been a little bit under the weather with not much to eat and drink, and my wand arm is kind of squished at the moment.'

"Shouldn't it be me that's supposed to find trouble, Severus?"

"Get me out and I'll take the hypocrite lecture after."

Well, even if he put it so nicely. It's not like it's a problem that we could easily solve by simply pushing the snake off. I knew all we needed was a simple solution no matter how unique the problem was, but nothing came to mind.

"You don't happen to have any idea, do you Sev?"

"None without risking in waking the fifty long foot worth of skin bag," he groused, not at all elated by his own ideas before he seemed to deflate. "It's...it's no use. I'm sorry guys but, but I'm afraid-"

"Don't you dare," Lily cut him off with a fierce glare, "Don't you dare give up on us Severus or I swear I'll break the Oath and make sure you get the help you need. I'll even cut this... fancy worm out for you but don't dare tell us your life is no use."

There wasn't enough light to see his face, but I would bet his eyes were wet from the dam holding his tears back, "But..but... the Basilisk..."

"Then you better try risking it because you either risk it or risk stuck as a snake cushion, what's it going to be?" I told him firmly.

Severus breathed out harshly, either grateful or exasperate at having such lovely friends, "Fine fine. First thing first, Percy, you're going to have to wake the Basilisk."

"Wow, wow, wow. I thought your plan was risking it awake, not making it!"

Sev waved his free hand like my worries aren't warranted, "Semantics. As I was saying before you rudely interrupted me. You need to lure the basilisk out and give it a wild goose chase without letting it escape outside through the pipes."

"And how will this brilliant plan of yours prevents me from being a snake chowder or as one of Medusa's statue?"

"Don't worry, I have a charm spell that would keep that beast away while the two of us wait outside its cage."

"Okay, I understand where you're going with this but why can't Lily do it? She's better at charms than me."

Sev had held back the urge to roll his eyes, "Obviously, because I like her better."

Oh, gee... way to make a guy feel great, Sev.

"Joking aside," _That was a joke?_ "When it concerns suicidal danger you're the likeliest to survive out of the three of us so I'm banking on that disgusting luck of yours to get us outta here."

Well, when you put it that _way._

"Alright, how are we going to do this?"

Three minutes later, I found myself about to do one of the Top Five on How-the-heck-Did-I-Survive List and had a 20K pound of death chasing after me. Normally, I would have asked myself ' _Why me?'_ But at this point, it's easier to just roll with the punches.

How did I wake up the world's deadliest snake you might ask?

Let's just say I hope it had a hard time breathing with a stick up its nose. Literally.

I know, not my proudest moment. I'd have to improvise since Severus's plan involves using a wand and currently lost said wand in the snake I'm up against.

Yeah, barely starting and the plan is already botched to Hades.

One good thing that I was confident of was my evasion skill, and I figured the maze-like chamber could easily hide my presence and evading the Big Bad Snake out of his sight.

That was the sound of symphony Major Mistake No.2

By the three-and-a-half-minute time point, woe is me for considering going deeper through the chamber because you don't try to out-hide a natural predator of humankind. Not only could it smell me from a mile afar, but the Basilisk was actually stealthy enough to put a jump on me. It only took the unnatural giant shadow covering me to make me notice its presence.

Running was the only option I had; I couldn't go back and risk endangering Lily and Sev, nor could I fight with a sword while making sure not to meet its eye. I'm not prepared for that much risk. The only other way to get it off my back was with Sev's planning, but as I had mentioned before, I don't have my wand.

At this rate, I might be desperate enough to do a fake-death-bit if it could get the scaly thing to leave me alone, but thankfully I haven't reached that point before a solution smacked me on the face.

No, it literally smacked me. As in the flying pest—I mean automaton fairy—popped out of the watch and flew up front when I was running for my life. "Hey Boss, you look like you're in trouble, need some help?" Said the out of place cheery robot hitching a ride on my face.

"Kind of in the middle of something," I hissed as I made a sharp turn and narrowly avoid a hard lunge from the demonic snake.

"Yeah, I get that. Why do you think I'm here?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Why are you here? I didn't remember calling you out of my watch."

"Emergency Buddy System. Lord Hermes had graciously provided Boss with a Pop-out helper in the case you are too busy in mortal peril to properly summon me."

"Then can you take care of that?" I jammed a thumb behind me so he knows what I'm dealing with.

Ivan only took one brief look behind me and just as cheerily answered, "Of course not, are you crazy Boss? I'm a helper, not a fighter."

This useless piece of tin bug.

Nevertheless, I am this close to faking my death (and most likely fail) until I told him, "Then help me get back my wand, it's the _least_ your metal wings can do!"

I was expecting another whine or excuse, but surprisingly, Ivan gave me a quick salute and flew back, confronting the snake and giving no time for me to stop him. I mean, the fairy could be annoying but that doesn't mean I want him to be its personal curb ball.

Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. The snake began to trash within the confine of the pipes. I warily observed from the corner of a pipeline and was feeling a bit claustrophobic when the whole wall shook. It didn't cease even when Ivan was back, wet in snake boogers, my wand successfully retrieved from its snot.

"I got your wand Boss! Whatcha gonna do next?"

"The next step of the plan, but just in case if I die, make sure you kill Sev for me."

I waved my wand around, aiming at my throat, and whispered _Sonos uva_ before taking a deep breath, I cried out the loudest chicken cluck I've ever made.

If you're confused at this turnabout, so was I. Severus explained the cry of a hen was fatal for the basilisk. How a cluck of what should have been its snack and life gives a plot twist by turning it into its natural-born enemy.

The reaction was more than I could hope. Clucking myself at it, brandishing it like a man whipping the lion back, no matter how silly I make myself out. But beating with a chicken cluck is definitely going to the Top 10 Weirdest-Shite-in-My-Life and that's an achievement.

The snake and I managed to get back at the chamber, my clucking had forced it back to hide within the dark damp of its cage before the mouth of Salazar Slytherin was closed, locking it up for good.

I felt safe enough to turn my back and walked up to Lily and Sev, both were waiting by the hole Sev had dug, looking up at me with a mixed expression.

"I don't know if I should laugh or be amazed by that surreal scene," Lily pursed in confliction.

Sev, on the other hand, didn't hide his own amusement, "You mean seeing Percy chicken-danced his way to scaring the Big Bad Basilisk?"

"That."

"Pok, pok, pok, _pok,_ _POK?_!"

"What's that? Sorry, I don't speak chicken." The glee in Sev's face was wiped by the light punch and a hard glare from our fiery red-headed friend, "Fine, fine, _Finite incantatem._ "

A tingle of magic wrapped around my throat before releasing it, "Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3, oh thanks Severus. I was worried since otherwise, I couldn't have said this: WHAT THE EVER LOVING NAME OF KRONOS WERE YOU THINKING?" My angry shout was enough to knock down Severus on thin air.

Wow, I didn't think I could be this mad without making an earthquake. I guess I'm too used to putting things in a jar. No surprise there.

"Percy!"

I ignored Lily and pointed accusingly at the black mess on the floor, "Had we found this degenerate greasy mess even later, you might have been dead by then without anyone ever finding you. Did you ever think that when you went down without so much as a note of where you were going? Did that big brain of yours ever thought of how we feel worrying our heads off?!"

Great gods, is this how Mom feels every time I went out in search of danger? She's a literal saint by this point.

"I know you're not an idiot Sev, so what ran through your head that led you to think any of this was a good idea?"

Sev didn't say anything, not at first anyway. He was biting his lips and couldn't look me in the eye, then pulled out his fisted hand, opening it to reveal a... jagged holed rectangular piece smaller than the palm of his hand. In fact, that might look like the head of a classic medieval key.

The dots connected before he had begun explaining, "That day, I didn't mean to hurt you...it was a prank they deserve but... I didn't think and you got hurt and look disappointed that I..." He licked his dry lips, breath heaving as he tried to reign in the tears at the edge of his eyes, "I hate not being your friend, and, and, I thought to find the key of the Lost Treasure would have made it up so... that is... I…"

He cursed when a lone tear managed to break and immediately started brushing it off with his dirty sleeve but that only gave his face as greasy as his hair. Both of us were looking dumbstruck at his crying, never had we seen Severus so...so... what's the word... _argh_! Emotionally vulnerable like this. Yes, that's the one.

And for the first time since I had grabbed the hand of a helpless kid from a house with a drunk abusive father, I saw Severus as the kid he was. It was easy to forget because of how mature he was and how easily I regarded him as someone equal.

It seemed way too late to realize my mental state took a bit of a nosedive alongside my age.

Lily glumped him into a crushing hug that Sev returned without a thought — another thing he rarely does — giving him the physical comfort he needed after being stranded for _who-knows-how-many_ days. I doubted a Basilisk would have made a great bunkmate for him.

Still, I couldn't help but give him a gentle knock on the head for his over the top apology gift, "We never stop being friends, for someone so smart you could be stupid as you are dramatic, Sevvy."

"Don't call me that," he growled but there was none of his usual bite in his word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I give you... Percy Jackson heroically chicken dancing his way to safety 
> 
> Your welcome


	17. I'm Not Asking Out Trouble, I'm Just Strangely Attracted to It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: So... apparently you can scare the legendary basilisk, the nightmare of all wizards, with just small chicken noises. Sev was found safely and found a piece of the key of the Lost Treasure.

In any other time, Severus would have been reserved to get into his own dorm room after going missing for three days. It was already a miracle he survived. While common sense dictates that he should have checked up with Madam Pomfrey, he was more concerned in getting food for his stomach before going to meet up with his bed and sleep the rest of his miserable life away.

His friends had helped with the former. With intimate knowledge of where Hogwarts' kitchen was, the house-elves were more than happy feeding a starved wizard. Severus was not ashamed admitting in shedding a few relief tears when confronted with the warm air from the stove fire, waft of baked food, the drool-inducing spices in the air, and the warm glow from the oven that was the total opposite of the tense cold cage where darkness seemed to enveloped his whole being. Severus was never one to shun away from the dark, even as a kid, he had always associated it with silence and peace where nothing and no one can harm him while he was in its embrace. But even there's a point for him when all the dark and dreary became too much.

After having his fill, Severus was not all keen to move from the floor, squished between his two green-eyed friends. He basked in the warmth of their presences, and for once, Severus didn't mind for the sounds surrounding him; of the pitter-patter steps of the little elves, the sharp whistle of boiling water, the sizzling oil on a hot pan, the crack of eggs breaking, and the timely tick of the grandfather clock.

The clock itself wasn't like any ordinary one. There was twice the amount of clock's hand, and instead of the time, it showed the list of work around the clock's face; cooking, making the bed, washing the plates, cleaning the halls. No breaks in between them.

Make sense, house-elves have no need for the concept of time or breaks, their only concern is whether they do their job promptly and properly.

It did do its job in showing a vague time and Severus was not surprised by how late it was. He felt the sag of his muscle and the heaviness of his eyelid. He knew he should get up and go back to his common room, ensuring his friends that he was safe. But the dungeon, for what it's worth, wasn't an ideal place for comfort and Severus needed it at that moment.

So the three of them stayed snuggled together on the kitchen floor, with only the eyes of the elves watching them before Morpheus came and knock their lights out. Never noticing one lone elf who covered them in a single blanket. None complained when they woke up that morning.

Severus reluctantly entangled himself from their grips (which was unfairly strong despite being unconscious). He considered waking them up since the sun had barely even risen but thought better of it and informed the elves that he has gone back ahead for when his friends are awake and ask about his whereabouts. After the save they made for him, they deserve the rest.

The first thing he did was getting a shower. Even if no one question where Severus was, they would certainly question the putrid smell of sewage and reptile all over him. He made sure to washed thrice. Once satisfied, he trudged his way back to his room until he paused when he heard the call of his name.

"Snape, you're not dead?"

Coming out from his room was his fellow roommates, Evan Rosier and Albert Wilkes. The two tweens gawk at his wet figure, looking nonchalantly out of the shower like he hadn't disappeared out of the blue from the rest of the Snakes.

Severus was not ready for this. He expected it but wasn't prepared to answer any of their inquisitive proddings. "Went out. Got lost. Just recently found my way back, though I ought to make it clear to the rest of the student body that I'm still breathing so I could disappoint them with my continued existent."

Rosier rolled his eyes. "Ceased your dramatics Severus, it's unbecoming of you," he said so, but none could mistake his amused smirk.

"I thought you said I was all about the dramatics."

Wilkes, on the other hand, was not amused by the humor milked in this situation. His shocking steel blue eyes glared accusingly at the Halfblood, "The rumours are clearly exaggerating if you still kept that sharp tongue of yours. Where were you anyway? Do you know the kind of scandal you almost cause for us with this stunt of yours? I hope it's worth playing along with that mudblood of yours."

' _Oh, I'm fine. Thanks for asking. I was only literally close to being buried six feet under next to a twenty-foot long legendary beast that could make most adults wet themselves.'_

He shoved those thoughts in the corner of his mind, reminding himself that his housemates aren't Lily or Percy so he found no use in comparing them.

Rosier took a hold on the crook of Wilkes' elbow, like an owner holding a leash to his barking dog, "Settle down Albert, let him say his piece before you could badger him. It's not completely his fault if his _friend_ likes to involve him in their game–"

"It's not."

They both turned heads at him and Severus gulped, already regretting speaking out when he couldn't stop himself. "It's, it's not like that. I was experimenting with new curses out of school — I didn't want any nosy busybody to disturb me — but got lost on my way back. The two had nothing to do with my disappearance."

The silence felt strained and Severus was reluctant to meet their eyes. It was unusual for him to speak out, he knew it. He was one of the few Halfblood here, strictly speaking, he was the lowest in the hierarchy here. He learned quickly that there's no point in defending his choice of friends as being a muggle-born and a 'duffer. Not only because it wouldn't change any of their minds, but his own opinion doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Severus might have gotten his dream house, but he is still far from being accepted as one of them.

And Severus is determined to prove himself as a true Slytherin despite his blood.

And talking back to a Pureblood is a definite _no-no_.

"Err... I mean, what I meant was…"

Rosier waved him off, "It's fine, we understand Snape. I must apologize for assuming your circumstance. It must be hard for every little action you take to be associated with them."

"Err…" Severus wasn't sure what to say.

"It's okay, I understand. The three of you are childhood friends, it's hard to break that sense of obligation to them. Can't blame your choice if you had to pick between them and the muggles around you. I can't imagine how hard that must have been living with those savages." Rosier closed his distance and tried to give a reassuring grip on his shoulder. It failed. "But you know you're not obligated to always follow them, right Snape? You're one of us now, remember what Malfoy said on our first day?"

How could he not? He remembered it word for word, not just because he is good at memorizing but because he took those words to heart. The words that stamped his day as a Slytherin.

"Slytherins are the seeds of greatness. The moment you were chosen in the majestic house of snake you are destined for greatness regardless of who you are. No one could tell us we deserve anything less of the highest respect, and in turn, you have the obligation to bring honor upon our name. In Slytherin, you are our own — you are the elites, and so we look after only our own."

Severus recited it immaculately, yet his tongue tasted bitter to his own. For some reason, the words felt it was beginning to ensnare in his very core. The comforting warmth of his chamber became that much chilling somehow.

Rosier became more and more pleased, "That's correct. We saw the potential of greatness in you Severus, anyone who could come up half the spells you made and humiliate those Gryffindors as you do couldn't be anything less than a Slytherin."

A hesitant smile crept on Severus's thin lips, "Thanks, Rosier."

"Please call me Evan, we're friends after all. Besides, You deserve to be in the right company."

**. . .**

In hindsight, we should have expected it wouldn't be that easy to slide away Sev's reappearance. I admit it was a bit funny seeing sleep-deprived Sev walking in for breakfast, oblivious at the gawking teacher looking straight at him.

Poor Sev had to be pulled away before he could take his first toast of the day. I made eye contact with a pair of emerald eyes from a different table as we both wait in trepidation of when we had to reveal our extracurricular activity. To our surprise, none of the professors gave us a lick of notice after they left Sev with his breakfast in peace.

"I told them I got lost in the plumbing and only just found the exit," he told us later that day.

"That's your excuse?" I pointed, disbelievingly, "Lost. And they believe you?"

"Why didn't you mention any of us?" asked Lily.

"It's not as if I was lying, I had conveniently not mentioned a hidden chamber that housed a very dangerous type of snake in the depth of Hogwarts. Besides, no need to drag you both in scrutiny and get in trouble. Merlin knows what they'll do once they found out you went out after curfew to find me without supervision. The Oath doesn't help make things easier explaining ourselves without complication."

"Did you tell them _why_ you were lost inside the Hogwarts' plumbing in the first place?"

Sev couldn't help the exhausted sigh at this point, "I did. I only needed to think of what the type of stupid reason the pair of buffoons would come up with and I told them I had this inexplicable urge to search for the many secret rooms hidden within the castle walls."

"And they believe you? It's like you said, you're not James or Sirius. I doubt you'd do something incredibly idiotic as them."

Pale dark eyes narrowed at me, "As hard as this is to admit, you'd be surprised the trouble I cause from all my experiments in spells. The difference was I'm good at hiding the evidence despite the superficial proof."

"So... is that it? Did they just let you go?"

"They didn't take any points, thank Merlin for that, my house would never live it down if I manage to take more than 30 House Points in a single night. They did, however, make sure I have a month worth detention every night for my, and I quote, 'Foolishly reckless venture using the brain of a drowning otter.'"

"Let me guess, McGonagall?"

"McGonagall."

"Getting back to what we were talking," Lily cut in sharply, "Do we still have the key?"

Sev made a reached to his neck and pulled out a necklace tied to the item he found yesterday, "Can't go anywhere without me."

"Good, good, then we'll have to figure out what this means. I thought at first there were four keys being guarded apart. But it looks like it's just one key split apart."

Sev nodded in agreement, "I've thought the same, but by the looks of things; we've got the head of the key, James got the body, and if Heckler's obsession is founded then he might have the last part."

I was about to nod until I found something off, "Wait, wouldn't that mean only three of the founders would be guarding the key part, what would the last Founder be guarding?"

"I don't know... a keyhole perhaps?" He tilted his head, considering his next thought, "Or maybe they split one part of the key to two?"

"Either way, we need to find Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's part next before jumping to conclusions."

"How though? We haven't solved Godric's riddle yet. We can't plan our next move until we know further information unless we want any repeat interview with Professor Heck-"

"Nope." I cut him off.

"Not a chance," Lily said at the same time.

"Then there's nothing we can do," he sighed dejectedly.

"What's that you can't do?" A Wild Marlene McKinnon suddenly appears behind us. We whirled around with identical too-innocent-faces. She didn't hide her dubious expression from our poorly hidden suspicious facade but shrugged, "Doesn't matter. Hope you two don't mind me borrowing Percy, because like it or not he's preoccupied for the rest of the day."

I blinked, not remembering any Quidditch practice or promises for today, "I am?"

Her face turned flat, her deadpanned eyes scrutinized me, "Didn't you remember my speech before the game and what I had in mind if we lose?"

I racked the memories in my brain and my jaw slackened when I remembered, "You were serious?"

"Of course I was, how else am I going to motivate my sweet hard-working team from slacking off?" Her voice was slick and sweet, and her grin was too big for it to be genuine. My legs started to inch back away from her, but McKinnon grabbed by the collar of my shirt, forcing me to stay in place. "I'm sure our star player would not want to escape a chance for some team bonding. Can't have you set a bad example for our teammates, wouldn't you say so, Percy?"

My eyes plead for help to my two friends, but they were made two steps back, their faces sent the clear message of _You're on your own._

Traitors.

By the time the Team was dragged into the hut. Hagrid had been so pleased and touched by the number of people volunteering to help care for the beasts the school kept, he was dabbing his eyes from the tears he cries. I didn't have the heart to put on anything but a strained smile while giving an all too cheery voice in my words. "What are friends for, Hagrid?"

And that's how we ended up grooming a herd of carnivore bunnies. Think of a cat-size rabbit with wings and antlers. Oh! Don't forget the long fangs and you could picture them just fine. These jackalopes-wannabees are going to be used for the next Care of Magical Creatures lesson. They might fool anyone with their big wide eyes gleamed with innocent. Ha! We learned that lesson quickly when one of those beasts choke out a finger bone. Apparently, the Wolper-thingy has a nasty habit literally biting your thumb off. Thanks for the tip Hagrid.

"I'm out," Jeremiah turned his heel and walked back. I couldn't blame him, not when he was close to passing out from the scene. Not like the others had a better reaction; Gideon was trembling all over and Howey the-new-kid was dead on his feet. Only Chris seemed to be the one excited to touch the little beasts.

"Do that, and I will tell everyone about your Try Out Incident," Captain yelled over without looking back.

Jeremiah made a few strings of colorful swearing before I heard his footsteps coming back, "Where's the brush?" He drawled in the deadest tone he could muster.

Hagrid gave us a quick rundown of the dos and don'ts when dealing with killer rabbits. None of which involved with any holy hand grenade, to my great disappointment.

"If they weren't such a biting hazard, they would have made a good pet," Chris commented as he drew back his fingers from a rather nasty grey rabbit. That guy's sanity is in another level. I don't think I know anyone who would laugh at almost being maimed, being a beater must be an all-time high for him from the way he had manic laughs during matches.

"Why do Hogwarts even has so many Wolpertinger?" Gideon wailed, he had tears breaking out when one of them had settled over his strawberry blonde head. He tried desperately to keep still as the rabbit made itself comfortable, "They're not even a native species here."

"Not necessarily," Hagrid started explaining, "The Forbidden Forest here is as old as Hogwarts, maybe even older. They kept many kinds of beasts there you can't find them just anywhere, even ones that are currently endangered like these wolpertingers. These poor little fellas spent being hunted by both muggles and wizards. Anyway, there are a lot of secrets hidden in the forest that not even I know and I've been working here for decades."

That makes sense in a way. I was wondering why no one had ever encountered Helga Tree in the forest. My mind then went back to the last conversation of the Treasure and how little we know about it. If Hagrid's words were true then it's more than likely there are more clues within the forest.

"Hey Hagrid, do you have anyone who knows everything there is to know about the Forest, possibly even Hogwarts with all its secret hallways too?"

"What's this?" Chris light up from my question, "Is Percy Jackson planning another one of his mischiefs?".

"Percy, you can get 1000 detentions for all I care, but if you miss practice or a match, I will string you up and let the forest deal with you!" McKinnon warned me, her voice low and serious that I couldn't help but shiver from her threat.

"No, no! I promise nothing of the like," I lied, "I'm just honestly curious if there was anyone with any real knowledge to navigate the whole forest."

Hagrid brushed his shaggy beard in thought, "No, no one I can think of. Not even the forest's creatures are capable to do that with them being so territorial with one another, and you know what happened the last time someone toed that line." Here, he gave me a pointed look, remembering the fiasco we got caught up in.

"As if there's anyone alive who would know _all_ of Hogwarts' secret," Jeremiah snorted, "Someone Like that would have to be as old the school itself."

A sudden euphoria tingles through my spine from his scathing remarks. My brows furrow as Jerry-boy had unexpectedly given me the answer. An answer that was at the tip of my tongue but was still too vague to put into words.

It never did come to me. Not when we had brushed every hair on the magic rabbit's fur. Not when the day went by with lessons and spells. Not when the exams came around and Sev pounded me to make sure my grades were up to standard while stopping him from defacing library books when he disagreed on it. Not when days turned to weeks then turn to months until season change into the chilly Christmas come and gone. Not when the first feast of the new year did my eyes glaze at the four banners proudly in the Great Hall as it stood for each house. Something kept niggling me at the sight, something connecting the four of them and bring the unanswered question forward.

"There is."

I could have sworn my words had been whispered so softly, it could have been mistaken as a trick of the ear. Yet, Lily and Sev stopped their talk (Something about pro and cons between potion and charms) in favor of my strange behavior.

"I figured it out."

"Figure what out?" Sev asked confusingly.

"The only one we could ask who knew the founders better than anyone alive in Hogwarts." I couldn't blame my friends for casting an incredulous demeanor they're giving me, I wouldn't have felt the same in their shoe and the person isn't going to be any less ludicrous to ask. "But first we need to sneak into Dumbledore's office."

The incredulous look they had dialed up when I gave no sign I was joking.

My fiery red friend groaned out all her exasperation at her hand, "Sometimes I asked myself how we got ourselves in this situation, but then you open your mouth and I rest my case."

"Oi!"

"Percy, in what way does sneaking into the Headmaster's office doesn't spell out trouble for you?"

"And whose idea it was to search for the Treasure in the first place?!"

Red opened her mouth but froze when she finally realized the pot calling the kettle black. Lily groaned louder than before. "I hate you."

I scoffed and flicked her nose, "No, you don't."

"There's a password to his office though," Sev pointed out, putting our conversation back on track, "how are we going to pass that?"

I tapped my chin in thought, "We could guard the entrance until someone finally says it, but to do that we'll have to be invisible to do it."

I turned my eyes on them, silently asking for a solution and witnessing emerald eyes glint in a sort of eureka moment before dimming just as fast. Looking away with a chewed lip.

"Lily?" I prodded.

She was silent for a moment before speaking out softly. Too softly. "I don't have a spell but I do know a guy with an Invisibility Cloak, but you're not going to like who it is."

In any other times, I would have been curious who it was and wondered if we had to resort to stealing. But the constant shifting of her eyes that wouldn't meet ours, and the distaste curl of her lips told us only one person we were 100% sure we weren't going to like.

"And you say I'm the one that likes to bring trouble."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Okay, so I forgot to put up the Author Note for the last chapter since I was a bit of a hurry then. But I got to ask, was it any good? Because I honestly think it could have been better without using the chamber at all. I wanted it to be Harry's thing you know? Finding the chamber and fighting off the Basilisk. I thought about the Lake, but I couldn't think a good enough reason without challenging Percy since he could cheat his way through the merfolks or Greg. And I already have plans for the merfolk when they met Percy.
> 
> Then, there's the fact I thought Salazar was spite enough to put a Basilisk where he had hidden part of the key to Hogwarts' Treasure as his way of saying "F*** you" to Godric.
> 
> Also, since the crow of the chicken was fatal to the basilisk. Then I thought "There's no way no one ever made a prank spell to turn someone's voice into an animal" so I put two and two together and the result was Chicken Dance Percy vs Big Bad Basilisk. I have no regrets on that part. I doubt a fake chicken crow could have killed it, but its survival instinct should have kicked in enough to scare the giant snake back to its cage.
> 
> And what did you think Rosier and Wilkes? It's a bit of a struggle of making them as 12-year-old children but cunningly scouting and gathering allies for their future dark lord and saviour without making them too manipulative. After all, they're just children so they haven't learned much being subtle or controlled emotion so I hope that was realistic enough.


	18. The Secret Under the Willow Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With no idea on how we'll be seeking the next key as we search for the Lost Treasure. I was inspired by the idea that the answer lies hidden within Dumbledore's office. But to do that, we'll need a certain someone's help first. Having no clue to the Mischievous Quartet own adventure.

"This is a bad idea, _very_ bad idea, can't we go just go back and forget all this?"

"Don't be a coward. What's life without a little adventure?"

"It's almost curfew, and we're following Remus, why are we following Remus? He's our friend."

"Exactly because it's Remus that we need to know what's going on or he wouldn't say anything otherwise. Besides, it's just History of Magic, and Binns would barely miss a couple of students."

"Shut it, you two! It's called an Invisibility Cloak, not a Soundproof Cloak."

Almost in response, Remus freeze in his steps and the three followed suit with bated breath. His head swivelled from side to side before continuing his stride outside the school ground. Unaware of his three roommates trailing him from behind like a bunch of mice smelling buried mysteries like leftover crumbs.

It wasn't an easy mission when they had to catch up in hasty but silent footsteps to keep an eye on where he'd go. From the way he was going, they had whispered their ideas of going to the Forbidden Forest. That is until he stopped near the infamous Whomping Willow. It's only been here for a year, and already news says the tree almost poke an eyeball out if you get too near.

"What's he up to?"

" _Ssshh_ , just watch."

Indeed, they watched within the safety shroud of their clock. And yet, Remus did nothing but took a seat at the nearest boulder. His knee tucked near his chest and waited. More than once did Sirius wanted to whine and moan or Little Peter trying to persuade (and failing terribly) his friends to go back. It was only James' determined stubbornness that kept them in line as he kept watch on one of his best friends for answers.

Remus didn't look too far from how they were feeling. His legs kept on tapping and fidgeting in place and kept looking up the dyed red sky. He got more and more nervous as the sun pulled further down toward the west.

The wait was over when the scared boy was up on his feet. The three-quarters of the future Marauders turn to where Remus was looking and watch the appearance of a cat.

"Is that Minnie? What's she doing here?"

The answer revealed itself once Remus greeted the cat. The animal purposely walked toward the Willow without a care in the world. It creaked and moved in a swift, merciless swing down at the cat. The hidden Gryffindors almost revealed themselves from a shocking cry to warn their strict Head of House. That did not deter the animagi the least, letting her cat instinct guide her through the rough patches — swerving, jumping, and twirling aside as she dodged every attack — before arriving at the base of the tree and reached for the knot that seemed to turn off its savage attacks.

Remus grinned and strode closer to the three, then pressing the same knot so the cat can withdraw itself in peace. Once she was out, he then crouched down toward the roots before disappearing inside under the tree. Making the tree boys gawk at the revelation of a secret entrance under the willow tree.

"A secret tunnel. Remus knows a secret tunnel, and he didn't tell us?!"

"That's what you focus on?"

"It's a secret tunnel, Peter. He knows how much we love secret tunnels. How could he not tell us? This is a betrayal of the highest order. I am outraged."

"Still begs the question of what's he doing there instead of going back to visit his mother, come on!"

As it turns out, it was easier said than done. The Willow wasn't letting anyone get close to it that easily. Even with the three of them simultaneously running forward, they would either get thrown back, pushed down, or get slapped. Either way, it resulted in them screaming like little girls as they tried not to get themselves killed until a stray professor caught and pulled them away from the killer tree.

Professor Sprout was not happy seeing the three troublemakers trying to hurt the poor tree and scolded them for it, taking 20 points for each. They were left mostly bemused by that before they were sent back to their dorm.

"We'll try again — tomorrow night. If we follow his pattern, then Remus wouldn't be back for three to four days. We'll come up with a plan by then."

Sirius nodded eagerly, a contrast to Peter's despairing wail.

The next two moons didn't go as well. The second time they tried to get past the three, they had suffered a night stay at the infirmary. Madam Pomfrey was not amused by treating a group of bruised skin, broken homes, and a few burn marks. They found out the hard way that setting a killer tree on fire was not the best idea.

They didn't stop there.

The next day, Peter became the unofficial watch eye in case any Professor passed by or the need to pull his two friends from recklessly killing themselves.

They were scraped and bruised but none less the wear than their least tussle with the tree. Their timing against the tree is better but not at all good enough against the dastardly tree.

"Guys, it's no use. The tree isn't letting anything alive come close. Maybe we should give up. We shouldn't do this anyway."

Sirius scowled, his lips curled nastily and was about to spat a few choice words but was cut off by James' excited exclaim, "That's it! You're a genius, Peter."

The Mousy Kid and the Black Heir did not expect that.

"I am?"

"He is?"

James did not answer, too busy searching the ground. Without explanation, he began digging through the melted snow. His search was met with a queering sort of stare, but they let James alone for whatever crazy plan cooked up in his head. They did not doubt it'd be mad if not weird as all his plan usually ended up being while ignoring the numbing cold his finger suffered before a loud " _Aha!"_ brought them closer to the manic Pureblood.

They did not expect their best friend would be so happy from finding a long sturdy branch on hand.

"Err…" Sirius wasn't sure what the right words were to question what's in James' head.

James took out his wand and transfigured the branch into a long metal pole without a word and still loony grin. He wasn't expecting the sudden change in weight but manage to stamp his feet without falling over. "If anything alive can't get close then we don't have to." Peter and Sirius had their eyes blown wide as understanding glinted in them. He threw the pole at Sirius and without another word exchange tried to reach for the knot on the tree without reaching the familiar edge where the willow would start attacking.

The other waited with strain hitch in their throat as the pole got closer and closer to the tree. Sirius gritted his teeth, focusing his precision until the pole reached the edge of the knot before finally giving a firm pressure on it.

At first, there were cheers at Sirius success, but they were still reluctant to get any closer to the wild swinging tree with no proof it had work. So James pushed Peter forward into the Wreckage Zone. They watched in amusement as the little guy was in tears, fumbling on his knees to stay out of the Willow's reach, too panic even to stand upright.

"Calm down you dolt, look! The Willow's not attacking."

Peter paused his fumbling and realised he was right, slumping down with a squeak, "Warn me next time why don't you, jerk?!"

"Ah, but where's the fun in that?"Sirius said with a hearty chuckle.

"My heart can't take you and your little fun," he moaned.

James and Peter reached for the first and held the pole on their side as Sirius reached them last. They were quick to find the hole hidden within the thick roots and crept down them. James and Sirius scanned the vast expanse of shadows and dirt of the tunnel with unrestrained wonder and excitement while Peter quivered in nervousness from behind them, his gut warn him of something very, very, _very_ bad about to happen but kept his mouth shut. He told them as such, but they dismissed his thought for being a coward.

If only they heeded his words more seriously, they wouldn't have known how worse the night turns out.

"How far do you think this tunnel goes?"

"Not sure, Hogsmeade I guess?" Peter mumbled out, "It might be some sort of hidden passage for evacuation. Like the one muggle royalties have if they were under attack."

"Seriously, muggle have those?"

The boys' talk got interrupted by a deep, bone-chilling growl. Loud enough to hear the creaking of the woods and the air trembled in heaviness in time with the shudder of their whole body.

The mousey boy gulped and was afraid his bladder couldn't hold, "Can we go back now?"

For once, they didn't call him a coward, partly because they felt the same urge at that moment. But James' curiosity was stauncher, preserved by his desire to be a true Gryffindor that he pressed forward. Sirius, never one to abandon a friend, stuck to him like glue, wand at the ready in his hand. Little Peter still believes they should go back, but he's loyal bound to his friends, no matter how bad things might get he would never shy away from danger or pain, he's not Gryffindor for nothing.

The darkness dimmed a bit less, a small but a bright source was coming from the end of the tunnel. The boys hadn't realised they had held their breath as if the air was constricting the amount of oxygen they needed, the drumming of their heart sounded deafening to their ears and the only clue that time hadn't stopped around them, and the only light source they spotted some like the sun as they edged nearer to it. They stuck to the walls, peering from the edge of the hole, expecting to see–"Remus!"

The dirty blonde boy was hunched on his knees, looking wildly in pain before jolting up in dawning horror.

"What are you– what the bloody hell are you doing here? Get out!"

"Wow, Remus, nice to see you too. I didn't know your mother lived here, a bit shabby and not quite what I was expecting a sickly person would live in."

"Lay off the sarcasm, Sirius! This is serious business– _Oh, come on_! Don't laugh. You can't stay here. Get out before it's too late, _please_!"

It was the " _Please"_ that caught them off-guard. Never have they heard him sounding so pained, so desperate, and so afraid. They couldn't move, not when seeing their friend who was obviously in need of help. Unaware that their 'help' was the last thing Remus needed.

"Remus, are you in trouble? You know you can tell us anything, right?"

"You don't understand. You have to get out now before it's too la– _urk!"_ He fell to his knee once more. James was only a step closer before the hunched boy shouted, "STAY AWAY! RUN! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T LET ME HURT YOU _UUURRRRRGGGHHHHHH_!"

The shock and fear had them rooted in place, watching in morbid fascination as Remus began to shift; his hair grew thick and covered his skin, mouth lengthened into a snarling jaw, hands sprouted sharply, clawed paws.

It was only when three pairs of eyes met with yellow eyes did they finally scream. Turning their tail and running like their life depended on it. Which they were.

Incited by the fresh smell of blood and flesh, the werewolf growled before lunging at the group of schoolboys out of curfew. They ran and ran — their feet pumping them forward for every bark from behind. Too out of breath to even scream for help. Even with a head start, their wolfish friend managed to gain at them quickly. They reached the entrance under the roots of the Willow Tree, in time to escape the clutch of the deadly beast. Unfortunately, they didn't consider how deprived werewolf was from having never tasted the plump bloody flesh being ripped apart with his jaw.

If they had, one of them wouldn't have been grabbed by the cursed child.

Sirius' cry was deafening as he felt his leg clutched around the sharp claw and felt the countdown of his doom. He screamed and sobbed, pleading for someone, anyone to save him. Already he imagined himself bleeding and scarring as the wolf tear him to pieces as his personal banquet until he was left nothing but bones. Then he thought about how Remus would feel once he regained his senses, picturing the devastation on his face and the heart-wrenching cry as he bathed in his blood.

Pair of hands grabbed each of his arms. His red-rimmed eyes looked up to find James and Peter pulling him up and away from the beast. James made the extra effort to pull out his wand, aiming at the monster behind him, " _Flipendo."_

Remus — No, not Remus, it's anything but the nerdy Gryffindor they've come to know and love — was thrown back by the spell. Giving them an opening to pull Sirius out of the woodwork. Without slowing down, they ran back up to the school. Forgetting the temperamental tree behind them that gave them blessing by whipping them on the back, pushing them forward away from the tree, and in turn from the werewolf.

They ran and ran as far as their feet could take them, and went further deep into the Forbidden Forest. The darkness of the night made it harder to navigate, but the grating howl was enough to push them onward.

"Why did we even went to the forest? This is the last place we should be going."

"How should I know, I was following you!"

"Me? I was following him."

Sirius growled and pulled up his pants to show the nasty gash across his calf, "My legs are bleeding out, I can't even go on a Knight Bus like this!"

Their breathless bickering was stopped when a darker shadow went over them before the wolf blocked them if it could even be called that. Unlike a normal one, it was almost hairless and had no problem walking with its two hind legs. Its bright yellow eyes locked on them with a predatory gaze that made them whimper.

"We're dead. We're going to die."

"No, we are not." James, armed with a wand, was shaking and doubted he could fire a spell properly. But he can't back away now, not when his friends needed them most. "When I say go, run as fast as you can and get some help. I'll hold _it_ back for as long as possible until then."

"Are you nuts? James, I can barely walk with my feet like this. You go, I'm better at curse and jinxes than you."

"Do we have time to argue?"

They don't if the lunging werewolf was any indication. The trio was too busy screaming than to notice the newest company they had before the Half Breed was pushed aside mid-air.

Remus hit the tree hard but quickly shook himself out of it. He bared his teeth at the larger-than-normal wolf, growling back at him.

The three kids were left agape at the sight; a wolf and a werewolf, grappling and biting as they seized each other's neck. Then two new wolves appeared and pushed Remus back. The children jolted at the whole pack's arrival. It is the normal course of action for them to panic further, but they were oddly calm watching the pack circling them like a protective barrier against the scarier wolf.

Despite the overwhelming number, the werewolf kept eyeing them like it was ready to jump on them, but the wolves barked out to him. They were pushing him away from the gobsmacked children. The pack barked and snarled at one another some and oddly looked they were conversing. The werewolf taught muscle then loosen and looked cowed from them before very reluctantly backing off.

Peter was the first to break the shocked silence, "Did...did we just got saved by wolves?"

None answered him, probably because some of the wolves turned their attention to them. Their eyes widen in panic like deer across the headlights. But the wolves seemed to sense their distress and edged slowly to them slowly, then followed by a calming whine at the back of their throat. Not unlike a person trying to soothe an injured, scared animal. Their eyes were locking to them as if to convey their sympathy.

One of the wolves sniffed Sirius's bloodied leg, and he tensed. James grabbed reassuringly on his shoulder, "Don't worry; they haven't hurt us before; they won't be hurting us now."

The wolf looked down, gauging Sirius' reaction before ducking his head and licked his leg clean from his blood. Sirius shivered in goosebumps from the wet rough treatment but was extremely grateful for numbing the pain, though it was still bleeding he could now actually walk without a limp anymore.

The smaller wolf then backed away and made a long howl that echoed the forest. They then scampered away, leaving the bewildered children from the surreal experience.

Once they started their way back to the castle. Halfway, Sirius couldn't muster the strength to keep moving before collapsing on the foot of the stairs of Hogwarts.

"Peter, go and get some potions from the infirmary! We'll wait back at the dorm."

"Me?" He squawked, glancing on his sides as if he would magically anyone else, "How am I supposed to explain to Pomfrey why we're out of curfew and Sirius suffering werewolf injuries?"

"I don't know. Lie. Steal. Do what you have to do, just don't let him suffer worse than he already is."

"But…"

Irritated at his hesitancy and the swelling pain on his legs, Sirius shouted, "For Merlin's sake, get the damn potions already!"

Peter jumped at his outburst and finally skidding fast to find the potions they need, while James covered them with his Cloak, taking him back to their room. They waited anxiously for the small boy. The Potter Heir did his best in giving his best friend first aid and generally tries not to spread blood everywhere.

"James," he croaked, "Before I die…"

"Don't say that!"

"Before I die, I want you to have my only muggle song group album; Pink Floyd and make sure you find a way to play it for all the Great Hall to hear. I will not rest in peace until Hogwarts know the greatness of David Gilmour."

It was such a stupid and _Sirius_ thing to say, James couldn't help explode in laughter even when he tried to hold back the blood in place with his shirt. "Don't be an idiot Sirius. I'll do that after you die, not before. Since when do you listen to muggle bands?"

He shrugged, "It started as just another way to make my parents mad, but then I got quickly hooked."

Running footsteps made them turn, finding Peter out of breath, a bunch of potions bottle gathered around his arms. Labels such as Blood-Replenishing, _Trumplelop_ , Healing-cut, Sealing Gel, and Hair Growth?

"I just snatched whatever I think helps, is that okay?" he squeaked nervously, afraid he might have done wrong.

James, honestly, could care less. He waved his hand for him to get closer, "Just… just give it here, quick!"

Potions in hand, he went immediately for the Sealing Gel, coating it on the long jagged scar and ignoring the sharp hiss.

"Bare with it, we need to stop the bleeding for this, and this is the only remedy I know that works on a magical ailment."

"Oh great, so on top of leaving a scar, I'll be the next Wolfy McWolf."

"Sirius is infected?!" Peter yelped, legs half scrambling away in fear.

"Don't be an idiot you two, he wasn't bitten, he was scratched. You're walking out with a scar as far as I know."

"I'm luckier than more half the blokes in the stories that involve… _you know_ , considering I'm not dead or infected."

"So, what are we supposed to do now?"

"Now?" James said, "Now, we go to sleep." With a flick of his wand, he changes clothes then buried himself within the safety blanket on his bed. The other two were left watching him, unsure how to react. "What? I'm tired, I'm sleepy, so I'm going to sleep off my near-death experience and make sure I'm not.

Peter and Sirius exchanged glances. One shrugged and followed his best friend's act, the other nervously followed but was left tossing and turning without a wink of sleep in the end.

So it was expected for him to be the first one to wake up at the break of dawn and screamed like a little girl when he saw Remus sitting quietly in the middle room like everything was right in the world when it is anything but, waking up the others with a start. His hair brushed tidily in contrast to his shabby attire. His back hunched and twiddling his thumb as he stared back with barely concealed nerve. James was left to gawk at him, millions of questions raced through his mind but failed to leave out one other than, "What the bloody hell?"

Remus winced, giving out a tired sigh as he brushed frustratedly at his hair. Failing to say anything which prompt James to blow up, "What was that last night? We followed you and found out you had your own secret base under the Whomping Willow and then you started changing and chasing us for our lives. What, what were we supposed to think? What's going on with you?"

"You followed me?" he asked one point of the drawn-out tirade.

That made James glared harder at his friend, "Not the point and of course we followed you. Your lies were pathetic enough that I almost feel insulted. I mean, this is how many times did your mother got sent to St. Mungos? And for a Pinocchio Curse? Really?"

"Not my best excuse, huh?" He tried to play it off, but the air wasn't getting any lighter, and his shoulder sagged. "Sorry, I'm sorry that I kept you this from you all. I'll, I'll talk to Professor Dumbledore, and you won't ever see me again. You guys won't get in trouble–"

"That's not what we're asking!"

The outburst surprised them all. James got up from his bed and paced back and forth. Wiping his face as if it could erase the frustration building inside him before huffing out, "Just...just tell us. No more lies. No more excuses. Tell us what you are."

Oh, they knew. How could they not after last night? James, Sirius, and Peter avoided the word the whole night. Partly in denial and partly because they wanted the confirmation from the lips of their friend.

"I'm a werewolf."

There was no gasp, no shouts, just a well-owned silence. Stretching on to the point of awkwardness as neither sides seem to know what to do then.

"Well," of course it was Sirius who broke the silence with a loud clap, "That was an informative and invigorating talk for something we already know. Which quite frankly was overly dramatic, and coming from me, that saying something."

Remus couldn't help it, the breathless laugh he let out was more relieving than anything else. The only reason he didn't go hysteric was locking on to his bandaged leg. His gaze darkened before apologetically meeting his eyes, "Sirius...about your leg…"

"Save it, Remus," James cut in, "This is Sirius we're talking, he'll just show off to everyone and make himself look cool."

Sirius opened his mouth but thought about it more and agreed he would most likely do just that.

Remus blinks continuously, looking back and forth between his roommates, waiting for the angry accusation. None came.

"So," Peter shifted in his bed, "Does this mean we aren't telling anyone?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Well duh, of course not Idiot. How am I going to show off how I ran away from a werewolf when they knew it's him."

"Hey! What's wrong with me being a werewolf?"

"Sorry Remus, but you're not exactly the most intimidating guy out there. I mean, no one is going to tremble in fear once they know you fold your socks."

"Not to mention you brush your hair for around half an hour."

"Do you want me to start with Chocolate Frog Cards collection? You hoard them worse than a dragon."

"But...but...I'm a monster. How could you stand me? I can't even stand myself half the time."

"I repeat, folded sock, Remus. Get it in your big head that we don't care what you are."

"We're your friends Remus. We don't call ourselves Gryffindors if we turn our backs on you because of a silly little scratch then you have another thing coming."

"Friends til the end. Hell or high water, remember?"

They were fabrishing the truth. They know they are. The trio of Gryffindors witnessed firsthand how horrifying the bloodlust of a werewolf could be. How could they not be afraid? But it didn't stop the gratitude the boy felt for hearing the words he longed to hear, longed, hope, and meant their acceptance. Only ever imagining it in his daydreams. The tears broke out before he could stop it and he quickly wiped it off, not like they hadn't noticed it, but he was grateful they hadn't point it out.

"Just...just next time, try not to follow me during my time of the month, alright?"

"You mean your period?"

Sirius deserved that pillow on the face in hindsight, but every one of us broke out in laughter and it everything felt normal again. If he was sporting a shit-eating grin because of the look on his face then who could tell?

They left the dorm with a newly strengthened bond to their friendship they believe would last for a lifetime — their raucous laughter robust throughout their Common Room. It was almost a signature for them to arrive anywhere with a harmonious laugh.

Their good morning went on throughout their breakfast. Though it dampened when the Headmaster revealed a bloody trail around Hogwarts' floor and asked for the injured to come forward to one of the teachers and help heal them instead of stealing them from the infirmary. The future marauders were expectantly tight-lipped.

Their excitement wasn't over; however, when after they were done with breakfast, Peter noticed a notable figure walking straight at them. Her emerald eyes glinted determinedly.

" _Uh-ho_. What did you do now, James?"

"What are you on about?"

"Evans coming here. 5 o'clock. And she doesn't look pleased."

"Well, what are you asking me for?"

"Oh please, we all know about your little crush on her. We just wanted to know how spectacular bad your flirting attempt this time."

James spluttered with an odd shade of red across his cheek, "I so do not have a crush on– Evans! This is new, what brings you seeking our glorious presence today." He wagged his eyebrows and chest puffed, and his smile showed not an ounce of the nervousness he had around her.

He expected the usual exasperating eye roll or annoying glare, but he found she was hesitating. Her gaze shifted to meet his and away even as she bit her lips. "Don't get too of a big head Potter because I'm not going to make this a habit but..." After a moment of contemplation, she steeled herself with a deep breath, "I need a favour."


	19. A Tall Hat's Tall Tale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: This is James speaking. Percy's not here at the moment so let me do a better recap than him. So apparently, my roommate/best friend is a werewolf. Shocking. And for a moment, I almost thought we were going to die. It was awesome. Just when you think the crazy things are over, Lily came up and asked us for a favor. This week is turning out good for me.

Had anyone asked me when the best time for anyone to crept into a teacher's office in Hogwarts, dinner would be your best bet. Not only would the whole faculty be there, but the multitude of students wouldn't raise anyone's eyebrow if a few of them happen to be absent.

I was by the eagle-shaped gargoyle alongside Severus, waiting with bated breath for the next sweet's name the Old Mad Man uses for the day. Sev was anything but thrilled — his arm crossed tightly over his body like he's holding himself back, but I could sympathize with his reasons.

"We don't need him."

"Severus."

"We don't need him," he repeated insistently.

I lost count restarting the same conversation, "You at least owe him for the prank you did last fall."

"I don't owe that...that...self-absorbing mongrel and his cronies anything." Sev has more to say than just that; he went on to a long tirade of what he thinks of James and how much he deserved to be knocked off his high horse that our meeting with him is beginning to turn more into a ticking time bomb, ready to explode on our faces.

I silently pray to Hecate for any type of miracle so this night could end without anyone's blood on the floor.

"This isn't about you liking him. This is about putting the past aside and redeeming your mistake at the same time we are going to work together until we reach our collective goals, got it?"

Sev pursed his lips in distaste but nodded all the same, "Got it… but we still don't need him."

It took everything in me not to start another round of sighing. Well, I tried.

The distinctive footsteps instantly alerted me, my eyes shifted back and forth but were met by a hollowed hallway, winter breeze blows and sent shiver, not unlike a passing ghost would do, the tap-tap sound made it all the more evidence of another's presence.

Sure enough, the air seemed to ripple before it visibly shifted, uncovering three red-tied students occupying the previous empty hall.

James didn't find the arrangement any more agreeable than us, but it was still a bit of shock he would accept joining us at all. Next to him, looking hauntingly and imposingly at us, was Sirius. A wand in his hand, giving a silent warning that one wrong move from us would put us on the end of his stick. I guess letting Lily do the talking for us was the right choice.

"Where's the rest of your little group, Potter? Couldn't bother to show up to cover your arse and kiss it for you?"

_Aaaaaannnnd_ we're making a great start already, aren't we?

"None of your greasy haired business, Snivellus. You're only lucky Evans here has a prettier face, or we would have made you beg us for help," James claimed with an upturned sniff.

Severus' face contorted in that I thanked Lily to intervene quickly.

"Really, only my face? And I thought it was my charming personality."

James spluttered and waved his arm exaggeratedly as he tried to be in Lily's good grace. Despite not being close, me and Sirius ended up snickering together at his sad attempt to impress her.

Thinking it's best to cut the chit-chat short before another fight broke out, I clapped loudly to get their attention, "Right, let's get this plan started. James, do you have the password?"

The shaggy-haired boy nodded and walked up on the front of the avian gargoyle, "Butterbeer Biscuit." There was a click, and the eagle statue began to shift and twist, revealing a set of stairs.

"Okay, you guys wait up here while I go to the office." I turned and was about to take the first step when an arm blocked my path upward.

"Sorry, but we don't trust you enough to handle this alone." Sirius tried to comment casually, "You don't mind if I take you up in searching this mysterious clue with you, do you?"

I could tell at the corner of my eyes that Sev had a few words of what he thought of that, but I put on my best passive look, "By all means, come along." I pushed his arm away and continued my way onward, followed by light footsteps behind. Despite an annoying shadow tailing me around, I admit it's weird to be actively trying to get in trouble in school. Usually, trouble comes wherever I want to or not. Guess I'll have to cross off "Breaking into the Principal's office" from my list.

When we finally hit the office, my mind whirled to the last time I talk with Dumbledore here. Nothing changes as I recalled — not like it was hard to forget — silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. Portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses on the wall, either glancing down curiously at me or pretending to sleep. An enormous, clawfoot desk, and sitting on the shelf behind it was a shabby, tattered wizard's hat; the Sorting Hat.

Just the one I needed.

I grabbed hold of it and was about to put it on my head for some questions, "What are you doing?" Sirius' question was borderline demanding and made me want to ignore him in spite, but I kept that urge tamped down.

"We don't know about the Treasure enough to understand the clue we have — what it is and why it was hidden in the first place — so the next best thing is to ask the most probable person who knows all the secret of Hogwarts," I smirked as I showed him what most likely be the icon of a stereotypical wizard hat. "Who better than the one who's lived through the years besides the founder?"

"Wait, so your plan is to...ask the Sorting Hat where the Treasure is?"

"I doubt it'd be that easy. There would be no point for the elaborate riddles otherwise, but we might find out more secrets or clues if we learn more about the Founders and the treasure they hid."

Sirius begrudgingly admitted it was a good idea and said nothing as I put the hat on me for the first time since my first day in Hogwarts.

_Ahh… a curious thing. What brings you here, little Half-Blood? I don't often get to sit on the same head twice._

"You tell me. You're in my head, aren't you?"

Deep chuckle reverberated in my mind, and I had to repress a shudder. It was a weird thing to have a thought that's not your own inside your head. Is this how sharing a mind feels like?

_You seek for the Treasure of Hogwarts_. His chuckle became full-blown laughter. _A thousand years I've been in Hogwarts, and this is the first time someone has asked me this. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you anything on its whereabouts._

"What can you tell me then?"

_Hmm, as you've suspect, I have only stories of how the treasure came to be._

"Well, get on with it then."

_But that's all they are. Stories. What could they be used to you?_

I was silent a bit, trying to come up with a proper answer to what I felt of stories. "One of the first things I learn as a Half-Blood is that we survive from the stories of the past."

The hat's chuckle seized, and the silence in my head became a bit disturbing instead of the opposite.

_Very well, close your eyes and let me be the first to tell you—the story of how Gryffindor's Treasure came to be. But to do that, you must know how the Four Founders united._

. . .

_Godric Gryffindor was never always the dashing wizard knight that everyone knows and loves._

(Aren't you laying the compliment a bit too thick?)

_(Quiet, you! I had barely started.)_

_He was an ordinary farm boy who happens to have two wizards as a parent. He had been energetic as a child and has a heart of gold. However, he believed he was meant for greater things. Godric then joined knighthood along the time the Kingdom of England was found._

_Godric was unparalleled in his nimble hands around his sword and his large build that braved through challenges helped him rose in rank. Famous for his charming wit and funny disposition, making him beloved by his squadrons and the common folks, although the man was also renowned for his horrid singing._

(No surprise.)

_Despite that, dear old Gryffindor never forgot his roots and secretly practiced magic within the castle's hidden parts. Wizards were not harder to gain contact with one another, but ask the right question, and you would be ushered to the nearest hidden wizarding place. He was exceptionally talented with charms, curses, and any spells that use wandwork._

_My mindscape was occupied by the picture of Godric, not far from who I imagined his younger version of the painting I saw of him would be like, sweating beneath the sun as he produced excellent workmanship within the confines of his metal armor. He was a man with long ginger hair tied behind with a sideburn, rugged chin, and hazel eyes that sparkled with mischievous and challenge. For some reason, he reminded me a bit of James. Just his demeanor though, not his face. His face would have been a Medieval version of Chris Pine._

_However, the war still fresh within the people's minds before King Athelstan had decreed the abolitions of magic in his kingdom. He was the first king to unite England into one flag, but after being a warring state for so long, he needed something to relieve the tension. And so they set up the only thing they could think of._

_Competition._

(What? Seriously, that's all it took?)

_(Never underestimate the friendship comes from a few rowdy bets and good fights. Why do you think muggles kept on with their Olympics?)_

_And never did anyone realize they unveiled the planning Fates had in store at that moment._

_My mind was filled with the images of a long lost. I was reminded of all those movie reenactments of the medieval age. Stone cobbled houses, people in rag clothes as they go about their day, the many farm animals being pulled through the street that you could almost smell the barnyard scent from the whole town._

_People all over England came together that day for the great competition where people from the four great lands pit their best against each other for the title of the best._

(So this fight is just a way to let off steam and get the right for the better-than-thou boasts?)

_(...you're not shutting up any time soon, are you?)_

_(Prrroooooobably_ not.)

_Haa...anyway, where was I? Of course, fearless Gryffindor took no time to draft himself. He took on knights big and small on the fated day_ , _climbing his way to the top. Many eyes were upon him, some with awe, some with envy, and one even was curious._

_Because among those spectators was a noble guest who came from the far Fen._

_That man was Salazar Slytherin._

_A quiet came to mind from within the shadows, which is a surprising skill to do it in broad daylight. I never imagined anyone could have natural silver hair, and yet here he was, with upturned hawk-like nose, sharp pointy chin, and cunning eyes that tells anyone who sees that there's always something tick and turns within his broad mind. Unlike Godric's unruly hair, his was the utmost pristine care, not unlike Lucius, that I doubt most girls would use the number of hair products for their hair as much as he would for his._

_He came from a prideful and shrewd family. They were much known for sacrificing the lives of hundreds of wizards and witches to keep the good grace of the Royal Irish family in their back pockets. Salazar was never one to be satisfied with what life has given him. For better or worse, he is ambitious. He believes wizards and witches are not meant to depend on muggles for their livelihood._

_Those two, however, weren't the only wizards in hiding. An event such as this is an open invitation for wizards from near and far to slip into the masses, such as a preppy Helga Hufflepuff, a humble herbologist who came from good ol' Wales._

A plump young woman, brunette tied in a bun as she sorted her stall among the rest of the merchants. She was carefully cataloging her merchandise in two separate tables from her bag. Still, one plant nearly bit her finger off before shoving it back down.

_Seeking enough fortune from selling her prized plants, the dense crowds helped many wizards and witches sell their merchandise inconspicuously. Though sneaking in the Mandrakes had been a pain through the checkpoint—kind of like certain wanderlust Hufflepuff I know and his kept beasts._

(Who?)

_Nevermind that. Then last, there's intelligent Rowena Ravenclaw, who was only passing by._

(...That's it?)

_(That was it. Rowena had never been one to like crowds. Especially when she was a runaway princess up from Scotland.)_

(Oh, I see, I see– Wait a second, what do you mean by runawa–)

_She came for knowledge for knowledge's sake, searching for books and_ artifacts _from places far and wide. It just so happened that she came to the festival._

Again, in my mind's eye was the picture of a woman standing out amidst the sea of people. Not because of her clothes or anything, just from the way she stands and holds herself was enough to tell that she came from a higher upbringing than mere commoners. Her dark brunette hair hid within her hood, and her gray eyes reminded me of McGonagall, sharp that tolerates no-nonsense.

_Four diverse people came for four different purposes. You would think it's unlikely for their paths to intersect. However, on the last day of the festival, that's when everything went sideways._

_Rowena was found only because of chance. When during her quick skimming of books of what might be a hidden spellbook, using a simple Revelio spell, she whispered to the books before buying one she wants. Though some books were hidden more uniquely, such as needing to shake it, dripping blood into it, or you had to be a wizard to be able to open._

_What she had not accounted for was that some books were a bit more alive than others as she accidentally revealed opened a wild one. It wreaked havoc by shredding books, clothes, and food from the stalls around until Rowena was pushed to quell in her terms._

_Least to say, they were gawking all around her by that poin_ t.

(You tell me.)

_At the height of the festival, Salazar had been summoned by his brother within the depths of the castle. The thick crowd was the perfect cover for him to kill Salazar, unbeknownst to anyone/ Thus, undermining the new king in the process for letting it happen within his home ground._ _Salazar didn't let him off easily. Faced in a wizarding duel, the green-robed man was a better wizard between the two, and he wasn't going down without a fight. But the sparks of their conflict hadn't gone unnoticed and invited the guards down to investigate. The two wizard nobles were quick to hide their wands, but the younger brother was quick to accuse his fellow flesh and blood of attempting sorcery and how he had tried to stop him — forcing the older man to flee the scene with a quick apparition._

_Helga's reason was nothing more because of her blunder, switching magical plants with regular ones. It was no wonder her customer screamed when a rosemary started walking and dancing on her cart. Nor was the scream of "witch!" soon after._

_The fact she had to abandon her cart was the most heartbreaking thing for Helga as she ran for her life._

_Godric has fought his way into the final round. Crowds were growing wild by his great feet coming from a farm boy. Too naive and straightforward was he that he did not realize the implication of rousing the jealousy of the noble knights he had stumped single-handedly._

_They disapprove of his achievement because of his origin. Prestige was everything in that period, so it took a band of adolescent knights-in-training thinking it was a great idea to paint Godric as a wizard in front of the masses was a great idea._

(I take it did not go over well.)

(Understatement of that century.)

And so they all ran. One from a cheated customer. One from bad luck. The other from a prank gone wrong. And last from a jealous family. They ran, and ran, deeper into the woods. To the moment their fate intersect.

(You kept saying fate this, fate that, can you get on with it?)

( _You keep forgetting who's telling the story, cheeky little brat._ )

_Each made a turn, each out of chances, but then the four came to meet within an open clearing, out from the shadows of old dying trees. There were no introductions between them, only the exchange of wide panic eyes of the four that tells the whole story. When the sound of their pursuers was close, it didn't take long for them to begin running together as if they had done so for years._

"Wait, we can't go there!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"She's right," Helga added her thoughts, "That's the Dead Forest–"

"Charming name," Salazar drawled.

"–the first forest to ever grow on earth. Even muggles know not to set foot on its path."

"Well, we either go onward, or the one dead shall be us." Godric was the first to run head straight to the creepy dark forest of doom. At a glance, it might look brave, but I can't shake the fact he looked ready to run headfirst into danger just for the hell of it.

_The others only needed to glance at one another before following from behind. Deeper still until not even shadow of them left. The soldiers who followed did not dare to step through the cursed woods and decided to report their victory in chasing off the witches off the ground._

_Once the danger of pursuit had ceased, that was when one of the most awkward introductions in history was made._

The scene changed to the four being chased (again), this time by a ten-foot-tall walking tree, plodding through the forest without a care, and it apparently breathes out fire like a furnace. There's a lot of things wrong with that picture that I'm not sure which one to point out first.

"Ah told yeh nat to go to the forest! I told yeh! But did any of yeh listen? Nae!"

"Shut yer yap, Woman, and start running!"

"I AM RUNNIN' YEH HALF-MAN TWIG!"

"SAY THAT AGAIN, YE BANSHEE!"

"By the way, would anyone mind give out their names?"

Salazar turned incredulous at Godric, "Yer asking this now? Now?!"

"Oh, I'm Helga. Helga Hufflepuff."

"I'm surrounded by a crew of no-brain roosters!"

To say the least, they had a rocky start in their relationship.

The scene didn't end there. For some reason or another, Helga stopped in her track and looked back at the monstrous tree coming right at her. Her companions were shouting her name and hurrying away, but her next words managed to silence them.

"This isn't real." The yellow woman looked back and pointed at the still moving creature, "See, I implore you to properly see it. He's breathing fire, but nothing burns. He walks, but there are no footprints or broken trees on his tracks. It's not real!"

They all calmed down somewhat but still ready to fly at any given moment. The still closing of the Giant Tree did not make it easier to put aside their nerves. But once the tree had reached out for the lone Hufflepuff standing before it dissipated into the mist. A giddy smile spread to her cheeks, and they all spare a moment to be euphoric from not getting killed by an actual tree monster.

"What sorcery is this?"

"An illusion. The forest's way of protecting itself from intruders within their domain."

"Great. This is just great." Rowena couldn't help the snark, "Not only muggles but also a whole forest trying to out us."

"This is all yer fault!" The nobleman pointed the rough knight.

"My fault?!"

"Yer run and drag us into this insipid death trap. If ye stopped and think, ye would know we could have handled facing a bunch of muggles."

"Outlandish claim you cry from a kin such as yours. Do you think I don't know of your family, Slytherin?

"What did yer say of my family?"

The back and forth bickering only helps flamed the tension. Poor Rowena had enough. "QUIET! ALL OF YE, SHUUSH!"

Ironically, her resulted cry unknowingly provoke the hidden nesting of creepy tall legged pigs that looks could literally suck the life out of you.

Helga gasped, "Don't make sudden moves. Those are Nogtails. They're not violent, but they could give you nasty diseases if you're not careful."

"Oh, come on!" Godric got up and boldly faced some of the pigs with an outstretched hand, "They're likelier to be illusions than not–" A chomped to his hand cut off his words, and they all run the second Godric cried a high pitched yelp with a herd of Nogtails on their tails.

They barely have time to catch their breath before getting bombarded with either the forest's residents or faced with illusions, which was the headache-inducing part. It was a bit funny watching the four people esteemed to be these great wizards and witches that helped shape the wizarding society today, having their very own rendition of a scooby-doo run. But they weren't famous for nothing; the Founders were quick to adapt working together to go against the forest until midnight came and they finally had time to make a campfire for a reprieve, and when they began to open up with one another as they bared their soul.

"Wait, your brother tried to kill you, and that's all you have to say? You're impressed?!" Godric cried, eyebrows raised at the fact.

"I survived this far because I was the most cautious one, unlike my 11 other siblings were disposed of in much more...unique...circumstances. It was an admirable move of him to turn the unfavorable situation of our exposed duel into a way to make myself fall from grace. I'm more ashamed of not thinking it sooner, blasted brother of mine."

(Wait, wait, wait. His brother admitted trying to kill him, and that's how he reacted?)

( _They were a cold-blooded family in the medieval age. Civil war among family members is practically tradition then. His eleven other brothers were either fell, burned, stabbed, or poisoned to death from mysterious causes.)_

(Getting stab is a mysterious cause?)

Helga and Godric stared long and hard, clearly eye-boggling at his words that were not normal. Only Rowena seemed to be able to sympathize with him as she nodded along in his story, "I know, family, right? Teh things they do fer power."

Half of the Founders were looking more concerned by their fellow companions but not brave enough to ask if they were alright mentally. Helga decided to change the subject by telling them of her pride garden that she grew herself and held a double business by selling both herbal remedies for muggles and potion ingredients for wizards.

"That's a risky thing to do for yeh to do. I don't understand why yeh do it for them. It's a miracle you haven't been outed until today." Rowena commented.

"I can't _not_ help them when someone in needs my expertise. Not all muggles are bad, you know." Helga defended them, "In fact, I found them quite delightful."

Salazar rolled his eyes, "Oh great, yer one of those."

Rowena snorted in agreement, "Ay, they are until they decided to put you on the stake. Their ignorance for all things magic is almost painful to watch. Sometimes I wonder if they just want to see senseless violence regardless of innocence."

"Because you don't know them just as muggles don't know us. I can't say they aren't evil in people who love to watch suffering, but I've lived with muggles my whole life, and I can say for certain I know those who would lay their life for me as I for them. The noble heart doesn't just come from one kind, you know." Godric gave his two-cent in the end.

_They did more than that as they also protect one another._

Rowena looked like she was diligently reciting what she knows of magical fungus they find while Helga had no problem picking it despite the unusual spore it made. All the while Godric was in the background, holding off a miniature Cerberus with his sword, with Salazar shooting spells from a bit away.

_They learn from each other._

Salazar passionately made long-winded speeches for the spell he was teaching Godric, but the former knight ignored him and dived right in any way, jumping from the recoil of his rebounded spell and slamming onto the nearest noble. Rowena and Helga laughed at the scene even as one had furry skin while the other had blue, spiky hair with an uneaten plant on hand. Clearly, they had botched teachings as well. But they relish the laughter anyway, even the uptight Salazar, for who could have the chance to say anyone laughed joyously in the middle of the Death Forest?

_And you know what they say; there are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and struggling together in a deadly forest with fellow wizard fugitives are one of them._

(I have never heard of that ridiculous saying before.)

_On the last day of their venture in the woods, they were met by a herd of reindeers._

(I'm sorry, reindeers? Did I hear that right?)

_Yes, they were just as confused since reindeers were not ones associated with extreme violence and generally passive creatures. However, when the large beats came surrounding them out of the shadow of the forest, it did not ease the tension within them until they were ushered to the heart of the woods._

_Lay within them was the biggest reindeer of all, fur as white as_ snow _that radiant power within the blackness of the woods, while its antlers shone gold in contrast. It also intertwined with the trees' branches. As if the one reindeer was living and breathing alongside the forest._

_The Founders were all mystified by its presence._

_The Reindeer told them about the forest. How the muggles not only targets wizards but magical creatures as well. They are killing the forest in return. The one Reindeer had been trying to support it with its life force, but it was scarcely enough._

_So in return for releasing them, the Reindeers implore them to take the seed for them to grow someday when magic can safely thrive the land once more._

_Helga was the one entrusted with the seed, and once she accepted it. All the reindeers began to run in tandem. They run in a cluster until they were floating on thin air, circling them like a whirlwind before they were swept by the wind and vanished. Leaving them precisely not at the forest they were in_.

"So... we're out."

"You're right."

"I supposed."

"Then this is the end of our line."

_But it wasn't the end of their line, only the continuation of a long journey._


End file.
